Price inelasticity of rentals

From HousingWire:

Freddie Mac: Rising rents aren’t pushing residents to homeownership

Conventional wisdom holds that rising rents drive people to homeownership, but new research from Freddie Mac suggests the conventional wisdom is all wrong.

Freddie Mac commissioned Harris Poll to survey more than 2,000 U.S. adults online in March 2015 to get their perceptions about renting.

“We’ve found that rising rents do not appear to be playing a significant role in motivating renters to buy a home,” said David Brickman, EVP of Freddie Mac Multifamily. “This contradicts what some in the housing market think as they expect more renters ought to be actively looking to purchase a home. We believe rising rents are primarily a sign of increased demand rather than a signal that home purchases will be increasing.”

Rents rose 3.6% in 2014 and are expected to rise 3.4% above inflation this year. More than one-third of U.S. households now rent their homes, and renters account for all net new household growth over the last several years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“From a purely affordability standpoint, renters who have saved enough to make a 10% down payment are better off buying in the majority of markets across the country,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “But factors other than affordability are keeping many renters from becoming buyers, a reality that means real estate investors buying residential properties as rentals still have the opportunity to make strong returns in many markets across the country.

A third of renters are very satisfied with their rental experience and another 30% indicate they are moderately satisfied.

In addition, the top favorable factors for renting remained the same since the previous survey in August, with the strength of these favorable views rising slightly. The top favorable factors about renting are freedom from home maintenance, more flexibility over where you live and protection against declines in home prices.

Moreover, the results show some shared positive views across generations with no significant differences between Millennial, Generation X or Baby Boomer renters in their views that renting provides flexibility over where you live and protection against home price decline.

Despite increases to their rent, 53% say they are making no changes to their spending plans and 46% say they like where they live and will stay in their current place.

If renters are making adjustments due to increases in their rent, 61% indicate they are spending less on essentials or nonessentials, 28% are contemplating getting a roommate or moving into a smaller rental property (28%). Three in ten (31%) renters whose rent increased in the past two years agreed that they like where they live, but can no longer afford the rent.

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179 Responses to Price inelasticity of rentals

  1. 1987 Condo says:

    Frist?

    Waco fight reminds me of the classic Adam 12 radio call regarding “chains and knives”….had to enlighten my son with this great clip:

    http://www.hark.com/clips/klgfjbxlcx-adam-12-theme-short

  2. grim says:

    No better example of NJ’s stubborn idiocy.

    48 other states (soon to be 49 other states) have figured out a better way to dispense gasoline, but our way is better. Not to mention most everyone figured it out 50 years ago.

    A full 95% of the United States uses self-serve gasoline today, yet it is completely unsafe and inconvenient.

    Ok.

    The comment flow on the news websites is nothing short of amazing. Seems that women are willing to completely abandon feminism for the prospect of not having to pump their own gas. The men? Gentlemen, are you kidding me? You are completely inadequate as a male if this represents some sort of life altering challenge for you.

  3. anon (the good one) says:

    @BernieSanders:

    Today, the top 0.1% owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%,

    and one family owns more than the bottom 42%.

  4. D-FENS says:

    if people spent half as much time bettering themselves as they did coveting the 1%, we’d all be much better off.

    anon (the good one) says:
    May 19, 2015 at 7:16 am
    @BernieSanders:

    Today, the top 0.1% owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%,

    and one family owns more than the bottom 42%.

  5. Comrade Nom Deplume, Future uber driver says:

    [2] grim

    As New Jersey irritants go, that one is pretty benign as far as I’m concerned. Given that the gas tax in New Jersey is so low relative to its neighbors, it doesn’t bother me at all that I need to allow someone else to pump my gas. I will still tank up in Jersey whenever I can. And if I am in a hurry, I simply get out of the car and start trying to do it myself. That usually brings over an attendant.

    In fact, I will bring a few gas cans with me whenever I go by Costco in Mt Laurel. I’m sure it aggravates the guy behind me but hey, it’s New Jersey so, F you.

  6. Comrade Nom Deplume, Future uber driver says:

    [4] D FENS

    Envy of the wealthy is as old as time and will never end. The trick is not trying to educate the envious of the world, as they will always be with us.

    The trick rather is to make money off of them. Many of us already do. Think of how much economic activity goes in to regulation, tax avoidance, security, and other industries and applications that would not exist but for the teeth gnashing envy of the poor.
    I may find anon to be an envious little tool, but he has a purpose and that purpose is to cause strife and make me money.

  7. D-FENS says:

    Envy poisons your heart.

  8. grim says:

    anon – Take some solace in the fact that sheer luck (randomness actually) plays a significant role in determining the winners and losers in this world. As much as you would like to believe there is some cabal that pulls the strings, it’s not the case.

    Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.

    There are plenty of incredibly wealthy individuals who are incredibly wealthy not because of manipulation, malice, or otherwise. Only because they were dumb enough to bet everything on a single hand, and lucky enough to have won the bet.

    This is compatible with your idealistic world view, is it not? This egalitarian approach to being in the right place at the right time? Serendipity being as much to blame.

    Or do you have a problem with anybody being a winner.

    If that’s the case, you are beyond hope.

  9. Ottoman says:

    “As much as you would like to believe there is some cabal that pulls the strings, it’s not the case.”

    In other words, the banks were blameless in the enactment of Graham Leach, the hyper monetization of housing backed securities fueled by programs meant to explode home ownership rates, and the subsequent financial crisis and housing collapse.

    But then again, the person who wrote this also claims the systemic theft of black wealth during the 20th century, especially through the exclusion of real estate acquisition, never happened. Blacks are just lazy, right?

  10. JJ says:

    I may be old, but even at my age this is the first time I have seen Fidelity send me a stock offering priced at 59 cents a share.

    Name of Issuer Emerald Oil, Inc.
    Industry Energy
    Security type Common Stock
    Expected size of offering $150,000,000
    Expected price range $0.59 as of close on May 15, 2015
    Offering type Follow-On
    Distribution by The Issuer
    Expected pricing date 05/21/2015
    Indication of Interest Period 05/19/2015 to 05/21/2015 by (4pm EST)

  11. D-FENS says:

    10 – did you buy it?

  12. anon (the good one) says:

    @BillMoyersHQ:
    New study says people have no idea what inequality looks like. Which image represents US?

    “People aren’t good at guessing the share of the population that lives in poverty in their country (this comes from a European survey). We’re not very accurate at estimating how much workers in various jobs earn (in the United States, we’re not bad with shop assistants and unskilled factory workers, but we way overestimate what doctors and Cabinet secretaries make).

    We’re also not that great at recognizing whether inequality and poverty are worsening or improving with time. And many of these surveys suggest that the rich think they’re poorer than they really are while the poor think they’re richer — a pattern that implies a lot of us like to think we’re hanging out somewhere in the middle.”

  13. joyce says:

    Stop inverting things

    Comrade Nom Deplume, Future uber driver says:
    May 19, 2015 at 7:47 am
    [4] D FENS

    Many of us already do. Think of how much economic activity goes in to regulation, tax avoidance, security, and other industries and applications that would not exist but for the teeth gnashing envy of the poor.

  14. Bystander says:

    Luck is right, Grim. Most of the rich twits that I know play with daddy’s money. Open a vegan restaurant on Greenwich Ave. for fun. Truly the most annoying bunch. Hard working rich usually are down to earth and you might hardly know their wealth.

    #1 way to avoid remaining poor..avoid being convicted of any crime or declaring bk. Good jobs always do background checks. I have known many people fired from solid jobs bc of something stupid done in college and not disclosed.

  15. FKA 2010 Buyer says:

    [1] 1987 Condo

    The Waco fight is what happens when you don’t have a father around growing up. You become a thug and want to play sword games in the men’s room. More of these gangsters are going to Waco to join in the fun. Where was their mother to slap them around?

  16. When I was 21 I was headed down to Florida for Spring break with my 19 year old Newark Ironbound-raised girlfriend (I know, I know, JJ, that’s like bringing a sandwich to a smorgasbord) and somewhere in the Carolinas I stopped for gas and told my girlfriend to get out of the car and I would show her how to pump gas in case she ever needed to. She said “No.” I replied that I wasn’t going to make her pump the gas, I just wanted her to watch me pump the gas so she would know how to in case she ever needed to. “No. I’m never going to pump gas, so I don’t need to know how.” I think that argument lasted 200 miles. (Note to self: don’t ever broach this subject with a woman again.)

    Flash forward a few years to when I’m about 27 and have a different girlfriend who is about 25. I’m skiing with a buddy up at Hunter Mountain on a brutally cold day only to find out as the lodge is closing (early evening) that I had locked the car keys in my girlfriend’s borrowed Subaru. Vacuum power locks, slim jim is no good. Rather than break a window I had my girlfriend drive my Honda all the way up with her spare keys. A couple hours later she arrives, completely frazzled. She says, “I was so afraid I was going to run out of gas! Your car is below “E” and all the gas stations I passed were self -serve only and You never taught me how to pump gas!”

  17. [16] BTW, the first girlfriend, now in her 50’s, just pumped gas for the first time last year, when she was on a Mother-daughter trip to tour colleges and posted on FB about the ordeal of filling up self-serve for the first time. You can bet I reminded her of the decades-old incident.

  18. FKA 2010 Buyer says:

    from Hoboken Real Estate News

    The April Hoboken Condo Sales Results

    Very often, I take a new buyer out to see some high-end properties in Hoboken and they tell me they think the unit is overpriced. A few days later, I get the email from the listing agent saying “thank you for showing 123 Main Street, we have received multiple offers and will be asking for your buyers’ best and final bid by noon on Tuesday”. The “overpriced” property then sells for more than the list price. This is not just anecdotal evidence of a sellers’ market. Here are the stats that show that properties in Hoboken are selling, on average, for over asking price. Interestingly, this is happening across the board – 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom and bigger units.

    Price per square foot for a Hoboken condo is well over $600 for all size categories and has jumped to $644 overall. The median sales price for a condo in Hoboken is now $577,000. According to the New York Times, “the median sales price in Brooklyn hit a record $610,894 in the first quarter of this year, marking the first time the median crossed the $600,000 threshold in the borough, according to a report prepared by the appraiser Jonathan J. Miller for the brokerage firm Douglas Elliman. That is still less expensive overall than Manhattan, where the median sales price was $970,000 for the same period, but apartments in certain Manhattan neighborhoods can be had for less.” Overall, Hoboken is still a bargain. More and more of my clients tell me they started out looking in Brooklyn or Queens and realized they couldn’t get what they want in their budget. They came to Hoboken and were persuaded by its neighborhood feel and proximity to Manhattan. This year’s prices are a good 6% to 7% above last year’s. Inventory is still way down. The competitive nature of the Hoboken real estate is market is not going away any time soon.

  19. JJ says:

    Pumping Gas for Playas in NY means something a whole lot different than in NJ.

    Pumping Gas is when you first do a girl Anal style and after you are done pumping and pull out they make a big fart.

    The Original NJ ExPat says:
    May 19, 2015 at 8:59 am
    When I was 21 I was headed down to Florida for Spring break with my 19 year old Newark Ironbound-raised girlfriend (I know, I know, JJ, that’s like bringing a sandwich to a smorgasbord) and somewhere in the Carolinas I stopped for gas and told my girlfriend to get out of the car and I would show her how to pump gas in case she ever needed to. She said “No.” I replied that I wasn’t going to make her pump the gas, I just wanted her to watch me pump the gas so she would know how to in case she ever needed to. “No. I’m never going to pump gas, so I don’t need to know how.” I think that argument lasted 200 miles. (Note to self: don’t ever broach this subject with a woman again.)

    Flash forward a few years to when I’m about 27 and have a different girlfriend who is about 25. I’m skiing with a buddy up at Hunter Mountain on a brutally cold day only to find out as the lodge is closing (early evening) that I had locked the car keys in my girlfriend’s borrowed Subaru. Vacuum power locks, slim jim is no good. Rather than break a window I had my girlfriend drive my Honda all the way up with her spare keys. A couple hours later she arrives, completely frazzled. She says, “I was so afraid I was going to run out of gas! Your car is below “E” and all the gas stations I passed were self -serve only and You never taught me how to pump gas!”

  20. D-FENS says:

    Keepin’ it classy.

  21. Juice Box says:

    Bankers claim mortgage lending rules are too tight.

    http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/05182015_stevens_housing_policy.asp

  22. JJ says:

    BTW girls from NJ are exceptionally dumb. I took this girl I met from NJ out to my Hampton Share house on weekend. Bold move considering I had a girl friend and she had her own Hampton house like one mile from my Hampton house which also had my sister in the house. Long story.

    Anyhow when I was 27 I took the big boobed small brained 20 year old NJ girl out for the whole weekend. Yet somehow she never asked once why I always parked my Jeep in backyard by deck. Never in front of house or driveway. Or why we went to beach by ourselves and not with the rest of house or why I switched bedroom with someone else in house for the weekend.

    If GF stopped by she would not see my car in driveway, or if she came in would not see my stuff in bedroom. The added attraction was we usually went to similar clubs, but I brought out a girl not old enough to drink!!!! One guy in my house who was like 35 actually spit up his beer when he said why dont you guys come with us to this hot club and she said I love to but they proof for 21 and I am not that old yet. To add to the craziness she was a screamer, swear she would make a good p0rn star. Somehow I made it through the weekend.

    The end of the craziness was she lived in NJ right on other side of GWB. I drove a V8 1976 CJ7 with no top, no doors, a three inch lift kit, screaming Eagle on Hood from Hampton Bays to NJ non stop stinking of Beer, we were at Neptunes and Summers and had a case at beach, unshaven and the 20 year old had a bikini top on and demin shorts top bottom undone stinking of beer, sunburnt and had the look like she was screwed more than a hooker during fleet week.

    Anyhow I pull up to one of those junky town house condo developments and she insists I come in for a moment and get a drink or pee or something. Dont really want to but I do. Anyhow her Parents are home. I am like oh crap. Guy goes how are you doing I heard all about you, did you have a great time with my daughter at your Hampton house? He goes I hear you work on Wall Street. I am like yea I work on Wall street finishing up my MBA and guy was like hey you want to use my Ranger tickets to take my daughter to a game. I am like WTF. His daughter was like a secretary or something, no college, just turned 20. I should have ran away but it was a FREE HAM dilemma. So anyhow I say sure, like two weeks later went to Ranger game I swear this girl came dressed to kill and literally I needed Pedolite and Gatorade as I had no fluids left by end of night.

    At this point I realize these NJ folks who had only one child the daughter and they were like clerks think I am the guy they could grab onto and move up like 10 rungs on the economic ladder.

    I threw her back. But my old CJ7 which I bought spur of moment no girl on LI would get into. My Mom did not want it in her driveway. Girls in my summer house laughed at. I only owned it six months. But MAN when I crossed into NJ Blue collarville. The CJ7, slightly rusty, top off, no doors, lift kit, Crager Mags, six foot CB whip attenna and Levi bucket seats with the V8 humming and stick shift with a 20 year old big boobed in a bikini top in passenger seat and a big igloo cooler of beers in back Every Man wanted to be mee I was king!!!!!!!! Wait it is a $1,500 Jeep I got used and a slutty girl I picked up in a bar for the price of like two budweisers. BUT heY I am king of the world NJ style.

  23. Fast Eddie says:

    from Hoboken Real Estate News

    That’s as much as I needed to read to figure out where the article was headed. Why is there a real estate office on every corner with their windows plastered with fliers for condos and apartments for sale?

  24. FKA 2010 Buyer says:

    [20] JJ

    Nice….The look on her face after she does that involuntarily is priceless.

  25. phoenix says:

    Then why do so many envy public workers with decent salaries and good health benefits?

    7. Envy poisons your heart.

  26. JJ says:

    Here is my NJ Girl story.

    When I was 27 I took the big boobed 20 year old NJ girl out for the whole weekend to my Hamptons share house.

    One guy in my house who was like 35 actually spit up his beer when he said why dont you guys come with us to this hot club and she said I love to but they proof for 21 and I am not that old yet. My actual GF also had a Hampton house and somehow managed to duck her all weekend without the NJ Girl noticing.

    The end of the craziness was she lived in NJ right on other side of GWB. I drove a V8 1976 CJ7 with no top, no doors, a three inch lift kit, screaming Eagle on Hood from Hampton Bays to NJ non stop stinking of Beer, we were at Neptunes and Summers and had a case at beach, unshaven and the 20 year old had a bikini top on and demin shorts top bottom undone stinking of beer, sunburnt and had the look like she was screwed more than a hooker during fleet week.

    Anyhow I pull up to one of those junky town house condo developments and she insists I come in for a moment and get a drink or pee or something. Dont really want to but I do. Anyhow her Parents are home. I am like oh man. Guy goes how are you doing I heard all about you, did you have a great time with my daughter at your Hampton house? He goes I hear you work on Wall Street. I am like yea I work on Wall street finishing up my MBA and guy was like hey you want to use my Ranger tickets to take my daughter to a game. I am like WTF. His daughter was like a secretary or something, no college, just turned 20. I should have ran away but it was a FREE HAM dilemma. So anyhow I say sure, like two weeks later went to Ranger game I swear this girl came dressed to kill and literally I needed Pedolite and Gatorade as I had no fluids left by end of night.

    At this point I realize these NJ folks who had only one child the daughter and they were like clerks think I am the guy they could grab onto and move up like 10 rungs on the economic ladder.

    I threw her back. But my old CJ7 which I bought spur of moment no girl on LI would get into. My Mom did not want it in her driveway. Girls in my summer house laughed at. I only owned it six months. But MAN when I crossed into NJ Blue collarville. The CJ7, slightly rusty, top off, no doors, lift kit, Crager Mags, six foot CB whip attenna and Levi bucket seats with the V8 humming and stick shift with a 20 year old blonde in a bikini top in passenger seat and a big igloo cooler of beers in back Every Man wanted to be me I was king!!!!!!!! Wait it is a $1,500 Jeep I got used and a slutty girl I picked up in a bar for the price of like two budweisers. BUT heY I am king of the world NJ style.

  27. JJ says:

    Here is my NJ Girl story.

    When I was 27 I took the big boobed 20 year old NJ girl out for the whole weekend to my Hamptons share house.

    One guy in my house who was like 35 actually spit up his beer when he said why dont you guys come with us to this hot club and she said I love to but they proof for 21 and I am not that old yet. My actual GF also had a Hampton house and somehow managed to duck her all weekend without the NJ Girl noticing.

    The end of the craziness was she lived in NJ right on other side of GWB. I drove a V8 1976 CJ7 with no top, no doors, a three inch lift kit, screaming Eagle on Hood from Hampton Bays to NJ non stop stinking of Beer, we were at Neptunes and Summers and had a case at beach, unshaven and the 20 year old had a bikini top on and demin shorts top bottom undone stinking of beer, sunburnt and had the look like she just did it a few times.

    Anyhow I pull up to one of those junky town house condo developments and she insists I come in for a moment and get a drink or pee or something. Dont really want to but I do. Anyhow her Parents are home. I am like oh man. Guy goes how are you doing I heard all about you, did you have a great time with my daughter at your Hampton house? He goes I hear you work on Wall Street. I am like yea I work on Wall street finishing up my MBA and guy was like hey you want to use my Ranger tickets to take my daughter to a game. I am like WTF. His daughter was like a secretary or something, no college, just turned 20. I should have ran away but it was a FREE HAM dilemma. So anyhow I say sure, like two weeks later went to Ranger game I swear this girl came dressed to kill and literally I needed Pedolite and Gatorade as I had no fluids left by end of night.

    At this point I realize these NJ folks who had only one child the daughter and they were like clerks think I am the guy they could grab onto and move up like 10 rungs on the economic ladder.

    I threw her back. But my old CJ7 which I bought spur of moment no girl on LI would get into. My Mom did not want it in her driveway. Girls in my summer house laughed at. I only owned it six months. But MAN when I crossed into NJ Blue collarville. The CJ7, slightly rusty, top off, no doors, lift kit, Crager Mags, six foot CB whip attenna and Levi bucket seats with the V8 humming and stick shift with a 20 year old blonde in a bikini top in passenger seat and a big igloo cooler of beers in back Every Man wanted to be me I was king!!!!!!!! Wait it is a $1,500 Jeep I got used and a slutty girl I picked up in a bar for the price of like two budweisers. BUT heY I am king of the world NJ style.

  28. JJ says:

    Here is my NJ Girl story.

    When I was 27 I took the 20 year old NJ girl out for the whole weekend to my Hamptons share house.

    One guy in my house who was like 35 actually spit up his beer when he said why dont you guys come with us to this hot club and she said I love to but they proof for 21 and I am not that old yet. My actual GF also had a Hampton house and somehow managed to duck her all weekend without the NJ Girl noticing.

    The end of the craziness was she lived in NJ right on other side of GWB. I drove a V8 1976 CJ7 with no top, no doors, a three inch lift kit, screaming Eagle on Hood from Hampton Bays to NJ non stop stinking of Beer, we were at Neptunes and Summers and had a case at beach, unshaven and the 20 year old had a bikini top on and demin shorts top bottom undone stinking of beer, sunburnt and had the look like she was screwed more than a hooker during fleet week.

    Anyhow I pull up to one of those junky town house condo developments and she insists I come in for a moment and get a drink or pee or something. Dont really want to but I do. Anyhow her Parents are home. I am like oh man. Guy goes how are you doing I heard all about you, did you have a great time with my daughter at your Hampton house? He goes I hear you work on Wall Street. I am like yea I work on Wall street finishing up my MBA and guy was like hey you want to use my Ranger tickets to take my daughter to a game. I am like WTF. His daughter was like a secretary or something, no college, just turned 20. I should have ran away but it was a FREE HAM dilemma. So anyhow I say sure, like two weeks later went to Ranger game I swear this girl came dressed to kill and literally I needed Pedolite and Gatorade as I had no fluids left by end of night.

    At this point I realize these NJ folks who had only one child the daughter and they were like clerks think I am the guy they could grab onto and move up like 10 rungs on the economic ladder.

    I threw her back. But my old CJ7 which I bought spur of moment no girl on LI would get into. My Mom did not want it in her driveway. Girls in my summer house laughed at. I only owned it six months. But MAN when I crossed into NJ Blue collarville. The CJ7, slightly rusty, top off, no doors, lift kit, Crager Mags, six foot CB whip attenna and Levi bucket seats with the V8 humming and stick shift with a 20 year old blonde in a bikini top in passenger seat and a big igloo cooler of beers in back Every Man wanted to be me I was king!!!!!!!! Wait it is a $1,500 Jeep I got used and a girl I picked up in a bar for the price of like two budweisers. BUT heY I am king of the world NJ style.

  29. Fast Eddie says:

    Then why do so many envy public workers with decent salaries and good health benefits?

    Here’s why:

    ex·tor·tion
    /ikˈstôrSH(ə)n/ — noun: extortion; plural noun: extortion

    the practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats.

  30. leftwing says:

    20. Lol, cleaning a late breakfast off my keyboard. Thanks for the laugh JJ.

    Otherwise:

    >Today, the top 0.1% owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%,
    and one family owns more than the bottom 42%.

    Who cares? Says more about the bottom 42% than about the family. And if it is the family I’m thinking of their businesses have benefited the bottom greatly.

    >if people spent half as much time bettering themselves as they did coveting the 1%, we’d all be much better off.

    Thank you.

    >As much as you would like to believe there is some cabal that pulls the strings, it’s not the case

    You misunderstand anon and other liberals. Not only do they believe there is a cabal, they want one and they just won’t rest until THEY control it.

    As I guide my two sons: Liberals are people who want to take your money and control your lives. They prove it to them every day.

  31. yome says:

    Why did Marco Rubio raid his IRA Account? He reported having between $151,000 and $365,000 in checking and savings accounts and a $100,000 to $250,000 home equity line of credit at 7.25% interest.

    Is this how he will treat Tax Payers Money if he becomes President?

    He reported having between $151,000 and $365,000 in checking and savings accounts and a $100,000 to $250,000 home equity line of credit at 7.25% interest.

  32. leftwing says:

    Isn’t this a Springsteen song? If not, should be.

    >I threw her back. But my old CJ7 which I bought spur of moment no girl on LI would get into. My Mom did not want it in her driveway. Girls in my summer house laughed at. I only owned it six months. But MAN when I crossed into NJ Blue collarville. The CJ7, slightly rusty, top off, no doors, lift kit, Crager Mags, six foot CB whip attenna and Levi bucket seats with the V8 humming and stick shift with a 20 year old blonde in a bikini top in passenger seat and a big igloo cooler of beers in back Every Man wanted to be me I was king!!!!!!!! Wait it is a $1,500 Jeep I got used and a girl I picked up in a bar for the price of like two budweisers. BUT heY I am king of the world NJ style.

  33. LOL. Remember the pre-crash MTOTSA vs. eminent domain fight in Long Branch? I guess the crash made that battle moot. Look what’s happening now:

    Houses like this:
    http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/45-Marine-Ter-Long-Branch-NJ-07740/39289135_zpid/

    Being replaced with houses like this:
    http://www.trulia.com/property/3020922032-43-Marine-Ter-Long-Branch-NJ-07740

    That’s 2000 square feet on a 20×80 lot!

  34. Fast Eddie says:

    Why did Marco Rubio raid his IRA Account?

    I got a better one: Why did Hildebeast have a SECOND personal email account that was just discovered?

  35. yome says:

    #32 What happened to the neighbors?

  36. yome says:

    We need a 3rd Party? Blue and Red don’t treat the Tax Payers as their Employer anymore

    “I got a better one: Why did Hildebeast have a SECOND personal email account that was just discovered?”

  37. Libturd in Union says:

    I’m surprised JJ didn’t mention the Alaskan Pipeline.

  38. yome says:

    Recently, DC mayor Muriel Bowser announced that she has reached out to Dan Snyder, owner of the DC-area NFL team, about returning the team to the Nation’s Capital from its current location in suburban Maryland. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has made clear that he wants the team to stay, and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe is aggressively courting the team to move to Virginia. This setup makes a bidding war likely, with each location promising a newer and fancier replacement stadium for the team’s current home.

    Wherever the Washington team winds up, there’s little doubt that taxpayers – both locally and across the nation – will be on the hook for much of the stadium’s bill. Conventional wisdom is that the gains to the local economy from a stadium are worth the cost to local taxpayers. However, the evidence for this view is weak, and even weaker is any claim that federal taxpayers outside of the DC metropolitan area should also subsidize the location of a local team.

    http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2015/05/18-taxpayers-lose-bidding-wars-nfl-teams?utm_campaign=Brookings+Brief&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=17768238&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8970DsVrfJDx69S_b6FiPFsIgxq7DCpcIZRV_r42WQ8vssWZ1wlDmHrGjBducsSbTWOX8n29Ow0Be7iyXCDYG_os0qGg&_hsmi=17768238

  39. D-FENS says:

    Taxpayers are forced to pay for that involuntarily. That’s not jealousy, that’s robbery.

    phoenix says:
    May 19, 2015 at 10:12 am
    Then why do so many envy public workers with decent salaries and good health benefits?

  40. Libturd in Union says:

    “Then why do so many envy public workers with decent salaries and good health benefits?”

    Don’t forget job security and pensions.

  41. phoenix says:

    27 Eddie,
    Extortion is everywhere. Same thing in private business. You have a choice. No one forces you to live here. Many places to live in the USA. Like guns, go to Texas. Like cheap taxes, go to South Carolina. If you like it here and want lower taxes, tell granny that retired 20 years ago that you aren’t paying for her pension anymore. Want a cheaper house, tell gramps you aren’t giving him 675k for something he paid 50k for. The kiddies are cheap in comparison.

    Live to a ripe old age, send the bill to the youth…..
    Personal health expenditure also rises sharply with age within the Medicare population. The oldest group (85+) consumes three times as much health care per person as those 65–74, and twice as much as those 75–84

  42. leftwing says:

    37. NFL stadium

    Another argument for starving the tax beast.

    Why should anyone, let alone taxpayers outside of the affected jurisdictions, pay for this?

    Keep your grimy, stubby little fingers out of my pocket.

  43. phoenix says:

    Quick Quiz…
    Which age group uses the most health benefits and has been sucking pension money for the most years?

    Which age group is most likely to have a 401k vs a pension?

    Which age group is paying more for their health insurance?

  44. phoenix says:

    Plus,
    Which age group had more workers that were members of a union?

  45. phoenix says:

    Which age group is paying more for their health insurance compared to the amount they consume?

  46. D-FENS says:

    Quick answer. Nobody cares.

  47. phoenix says:

    D-Fens, yes, there are plenty who care. You know the answers to the questions also.
    That is where your money goes. The ones that complain the most are the ones also on the dole in one way or another. They just envy those who have done better gaming the same system they are gaming or will be in the future.

  48. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Classic. Sounds about right. This is laughable. These individuals call people jealous that question the 1%, but then these same individuals attack govt workers for a pension and benefits. This is a joke. Do you know how crazy this sounds?

    Now, because of my perspective on this issue, I’m going to be accused of working for the government because I don’t join in the fight attacking govt workers.

    phoenix says:
    May 19, 2015 at 10:12 am
    Then why do so many envy public workers with decent salaries and good health benefits?

    7. Envy poisons your heart.

  49. chicagofinance says:

    If I needed a reason to get out of bed this morning, then this post was it…..

    JJ says:
    May 19, 2015 at 9:47 am
    Pumping Gas for Playas in NY means something a whole lot different than in NJ.

    Pumping Gas is when you first do a girl Anal style and after you are done pumping and pull out they make a big fart.

    The Original NJ ExPat says:
    May 19, 2015 at 8:59 am
    When I was 21 I was headed down to Florida for Spring break with my 19 year old Newark Ironbound-raised girlfriend (I know, I know, JJ, that’s like bringing a sandwich to a smorgasbord) and somewhere in the Carolinas I stopped for gas and told my girlfriend to get out of the car and I would show her how to pump gas in case she ever needed to. She said “No.” I replied that I wasn’t going to make her pump the gas, I just wanted her to watch me pump the gas so she would know how to in case she ever needed to. “No. I’m never going to pump gas, so I don’t need to know how.” I think that argument lasted 200 miles. (Note to self: don’t ever broach this subject with a woman again.)

    Flash forward a few years to when I’m about 27 and have a different girlfriend who is about 25. I’m skiing with a buddy up at Hunter Mountain on a brutally cold day only to find out as the lodge is closing (early evening) that I had locked the car keys in my girlfriend’s borrowed Subaru. Vacuum power locks, slim jim is no good. Rather than break a window I had my girlfriend drive my Honda all the way up with her spare keys. A couple hours later she arrives, completely frazzled. She says, “I was so afraid I was going to run out of gas! Your car is below “E” and all the gas stations I passed were self -serve only and You never taught me how to pump gas!”

  50. FKA 2010 Buyer says:

    Who’s worst; millennials or hipsters…or is there a difference?

    N.Y. Banks Cashing In on Brooklyn’s Real Estate Boom

    Community banks that set up shop in Brooklyn before it became cool are starting to cash in on the market’s newfound trendiness.

    Real estate values in the borough are reaching record highs, allowing some of its oldest banks to bring in serious dough from selling real estate. Dime Community Bancshares and Flushing Financial, for instance, recently announced plans to sell property in a few of Brooklyn’s most popular — and priciest — neighborhoods.

    The deals — one involving a real estate exchange and the other consisting of a sale-leaseback—will allow the banks to shed office space and refigure their retail strategy. They’ll also provide the century-old lenders with more capital as they look to attract Brooklyn’s craft-cocktail and luxury-condo crowd.

    As community banks rethink their branching strategies, selling offices in high-value urban areas will continue to be an attractive option, industry observers said. With real estate values reaching all-time highs in cities along the East and West Coasts, the timing of a branch sale will also be an important consideration.

    Banks “don’t have to be located in metro New York” to sell real estate, said Robert Ramsey, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets. “You’ll never know until three years from now if it was a good time, or if they left money on the table.”

    http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/origination/ny-banks-cashing-in-on-brooklyns-real-estate-boom-1051196-1.html?utm_medium=email&ET=nationalmortgage%3Ae4010451%3Aa%3A&utm_campaign=-may%2019%202015&utm_source=newsletter&st=email

  51. chicagofinance says:

    Is that a Mastercard ad?

    FKA 2010 Buyer says:
    May 19, 2015 at 10:11 am
    [20] JJ

    Nice….The look on her face after she does that involuntarily is priceless.

  52. phoenix says:

    Millennial youth are lazy, right?

    What about seniors who have not saved enough money? Why did they not work harder?
    Gave themselves chronic diseases like COPD from Lucky Strikes and Camel cigarettes.
    Plenty with a brand new Lexus, but cannot seem to afford a full price movie ticket, resist a free donut, or pay their tax bill. They always need the “senior citizen discount.”
    Why no discount for a 4o y/o guy trying to raise 2 kids with no wife because she died. No Medicare for him or his kids, he pays the full nut.
    That’s right, he is not “entitled.” He has not worked hard enough yet.
    And when he does get there, he should accept a watered down version of what the current seniors get. Of course, he should wait till he is 69 to quit working in order to collect the full amount (new crap being proposed). Or he could get RomneyVoucherCare (bye bye medicare).

  53. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Yup.

    phoenix says:
    May 19, 2015 at 11:16 am
    D-Fens, yes, there are plenty who care. You know the answers to the questions also.
    That is where your money goes. The ones that complain the most are the ones also on the dole in one way or another. They just envy those who have done better gaming the same system they are gaming or will be in the future.

  54. FKA 2010 Buyer says:

    [47] Chi

    Thanks….was just looking for something like this.

  55. [14] The upper middle class suburbs of the 60’s and early 70’s were so homogeneous that the same thing applied. I graduated HS without knowing, caring, or noticing anyone having more wealth than anyone else. Flash forward to the mid-80’s and I was between consulting gigs, living in Wayne NJ and substitute teaching, also in Wayne. This family on the first floor of my recently converted condo was very working class, but I didn’t think kids knew anything about that. They had two sons, the oldest was probably in 3rd or 4th grade. I was teaching 3rd grade at some school off Hamburg Turnpike where the older kid went. I wasn’t teaching his class, but some of the boys wanted to talk to me during recess on the playground and I mentioned that I knew that kid and asked them if any of them were friends with him. Without missing a beat one of those kids said, “That kid is sooooooooooooo poor. I lent him a quarter once and he never had the money to pay me back.” That just broke my heart, for all of them.

    Hard working rich usually are down to earth and you might hardly know their wealth.

  56. phoenix says:

    Seniors are greedy. If they paid their full share of taxes all along there would be no deficit in S.Security, Medicare, pension funds, etc.
    It’s a credit card. Everyone on this website pays their credit card in full every month, I would bet the fence on that just based on the posts they make.
    They would all be proud of that and say it’s the right thing to do.
    Yet here is the exception. It’s ok to ring up the Social security credit card, Medicare credit card and pension credit card as long as some other schmuck (younger) pays the bill for them. How these cretins look themselves in the mirror and are proud of it is appalling.
    Budgets should be balanced every year even if you need to bleed the taxpayers to death to do it.
    Then you would finally see spending come to a screeching halt.
    Hypocrites.

  57. phoenix says:

    The estimated population of the United States is 320,614,404
    so each citizen’s share of this debt is $56,643.03.

    http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

  58. chicagofinance says:

    Look……let’s not really get into it, but there are tons of late 50-somethings out there who have fat 401(k) AND fat pensions…..these were the ones who were in the right place as the gauntlet dropped……it is that window of people who are 55-62 right now….they are laughing all the way to the bank and will suck the country dry with long-retirements and heaps of subsidized healthcare…….congratulations to all us suckers…….

    phoenix says:
    May 19, 2015 at 11:05 am
    Quick Quiz…
    Which age group uses the most health benefits and has been sucking pension money for the most years?

    Which age group is most likely to have a 401k vs a pension?

    Which age group is paying more for their health insurance?

  59. Ragnar says:

    JJ is the modern day Mr Wickham from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

  60. Fast Eddie says:

    Hmmm, the Seniors are greedy, the Boomers are locusts, the millenials are the most bestest, greatest generation eva soooo…. what about the Gen x’ers? Can’t leave them out.

  61. phoenix says:

    Corinthian Colleges files for bankruptcy- Ok for them to declare bankruptcy, they keep the cash.
    The students federal loans, non-dischargeable in bankruptcy.. Sounds fair, right??
    There is your lesson, kids..
    #1 The law does not give a crap about you, nor do any for-profit education companies.
    #2 Beware of charter schools because they can do the same thing anytime they like and get away with it.
    #3 Adults have your six…. only kidding…..

    14.#1 way to avoid remaining poor..avoid being convicted of any crime or declaring bk. Good jobs always do background checks. I have known many people fired from solid jobs bc of something stupid done in college and not disclosed.

  62. phoenix says:

    Eddie, no where did I post that millennials are the best. It will take years before any comparison can be made. However, all of these groups should be working as a team playing for team America. Soon we will be putting flags on our homes and bragging how much we love team America while we play some sort of bull *** global business worship crap.
    If you cannot get off of your drug addled fix of Chinese made crap that litters your house and makes you feel so good about yourself while you count your pennies and brag about how little you paid for your tv, then fly a Chinese flag alongside your American flag at the same time.

  63. Anyone ever notice that these statistics never include dollar amounts or counts of the people in any group?

    Today, the top 0.1% owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%,
    and one family owns more than the bottom 42%.

  64. Essex says:

    No one envies public workers, they just plunder their funds. True story.

  65. phoenix says:

    How many are really patriotic when they open their wallet…
    Grim, I applaud you for starting your business in the USA.
    I no longer go to *****Park as I don’t want to patronize a business that hires young foreign workers to their park when there are plenty of local youths that need jobs.
    I will no longer patronize Disney anymore also for the same reasons, and will explain that to my children.
    http://www.computerworld.com/article/2915904/it-outsourcing/fury-rises-at-disney-over-use-of-foreign-workers.html

  66. homeboken says:

    Today, the top 0.1% owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%,
    and one family owns more than the bottom 42%

    6 Waltons – $144.7 billion (Christy Walton, Jim Walton, Alice Walton, Ann Walton-Kroenke, Nancy Walton)

    42% of US Population – 133,938,000 (appx)

    and one family owns more than the bottom 42%.

  67. homeboken says:

    Above is response to ExPat 62 – Presented without bias

  68. D-FENS says:

    Hey, who says governments can’t create jobs?

    http://time.com/3883537/saudi-arabia-job-post-executioners/

  69. phoenix says:

    The fall of Rome… Funny how we never learn from history….

    1. Economic troubles and overreliance on slave labor
    Even as Rome was under attack from outside forces, it was also crumbling from within thanks to a severe financial crisis. Constant wars and overspending had significantly lightened imperial coffers, and oppressive taxation and inflation had widened the gap between rich and poor. In the hope of avoiding the taxman, many members of the wealthy classes had even fled to the countryside and set up independent fiefdoms.

    2.Government corruption and political instability

    3. Overexpansion and military overspending

  70. Here’s anther one for toadstool, blumpkin, anon, & friends:

    The top 25 hedge fund managers earn more than all kindergarten teachers in U.S. combined

    Look closely to see how they curve-fit the numbers. I wonder if the top 25 hedge fund managers earn more than all welfare and disability recipients receive?

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/05/12/the-top-25-hedge-fund-managers-earn-more-than-all-kindergarten-teachers-combined/

  71. phoenix says:

    67 D-FENS, from your article..

    “Capital punishment is administered for crimes like murder, rape, adultery, witchcraft and drug offenses”

    Witchcraft can get you beheaded, so could smoking a joint, but it appears you could be a bank officer, collapse their entire economy and walk away with your head attached….

  72. The Great Pumpkin says:

    So true. In wildwood, nj, they would ship over all these russian teenagers to work during the summer. All hail the great business leaders, making this country better one day at a time.

    phoenix says:
    May 19, 2015 at 12:08 pm
    How many are really patriotic when they open their wallet…
    Grim, I applaud you for starting your business in the USA.
    I no longer go to *****Park as I don’t want to patronize a business that hires young foreign workers to their park when there are plenty of local youths that need jobs.
    I will no longer patronize Disney anymore also for the same reasons, and will explain that to my children.
    http://www.computerworld.com/article/2915904/it-outsourcing/fury-rises-at-disney-over-use-of-foreign-workers.html

  73. yome says:

    There is no deficit in SS. Workers paid their fair share while working. Not a single cent is paid by the Fed that came from other than the SS Trust Fund. Today, What gets collected plus the interest on the Trust fund still have a surplus. What is in deficit is the current workers contribution is not enough to cover payments of retirees.
    During the Surplus years the surplus is invested into the SS Trust Fund. The government spent this bonds and guaranteed payment. Money in the Trust Fund plus money collected from workers will be able to pay 100% of promise till 2033.
    After 2033 if NOTHING IS DONE it will be able to pay 75% of its obligations. Everybody gets a 25% cut.

    The Biggest problem with the Government Fix is the Surplus. During Reagan he set to fix SS and surplus run and invested to the SS Trust Funds. This are bonds that the Government borrow like if you or China buy US Treasuries. It needs to be paid. The argument by the right is because it is money government owed to the public, it is not debt but taxes. It does not need to be paid. But continue to use the surplus.

    http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/08/social-security-trustees-report-unfunded-liability-increased-11-trillion-and-projected-insolvency-in-2033

    “Seniors are greedy. If they paid their full share of taxes all along there would be no deficit in S.Security, Medicare, pension funds, etc.”

  74. joyce says:

    “Plunder their funds”

    Ha

  75. joyce says:

    How are they able to legally do this? What entity is used to give them cover? What is the common variable every time?

    Oh yeah, if only we got the right people elected then everything would be better.

    The Great Pumpkin says:
    May 19, 2015 at 12:30 pm
    So true. In wildwood, nj, they would ship over all these russian teenagers to work during the summer. All hail the great business leaders, making this country better one day at a time.

  76. The Great Pumpkin says:

    The fast eddies of the world, how do you not see anything wrong with this? That sure makes for an efficient economy when one family owns more than the bottom 42% of the population. How in the hell is this good for the economy? Why would one family have more than 42% of the population? Do you know how many people have to be poor so that they can have so much? Where is the logic in this? Nothing to do with jealousy and everything to do with questioning the logic of it.

    homeboken says:
    May 19, 2015 at 12:11 pm
    Today, the top 0.1% owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%,
    and one family owns more than the bottom 42%

    6 Waltons – $144.7 billion (Christy Walton, Jim Walton, Alice Walton, Ann Walton-Kroenke, Nancy Walton)

    42% of US Population – 133,938,000 (appx)

    and one family owns more than the bottom 42%.

  77. JJ says:

    When the bond bubble bursts in Germany and France we will hear a similar sound.

    chicagofinance says:
    May 19, 2015 at 11:24 am
    If I needed a reason to get out of bed this morning, then this post was it…..

    JJ says:
    May 19, 2015 at 9:47 am
    Pumping Gas for Playas in NY means something a whole lot different than in NJ.

    Pumping Gas is when you first do a girl Anal style and after you are done pumping and pull out they make a big fart.

  78. The Great Pumpkin says:

    75- Better yet, worth 10 billion more than the bottom 42% of the population. Definition of insanity. Do you know how many small businesses could be created out of that empire, but let’s give it all to one family. Insanity!!

  79. phoenix says:

    Yome, One line from your post is this one:
    What is in deficit is the current workers contribution is not enough to cover payments of retirees.
    The math needs to be done to be exact, I will keep it simple.
    The problem is there are more retirees than workers. So how do you compute what should be the correct amount of a social security check?
    Simplest and fairest way-adjust ALL checks to the current ratio of workers/retiree and the same ratio of percentage of income/payment.
    If you did that, many seniors would get a smaller check. But it should be variable and adjusted to NEVER expire, not in 2033 and not less in 2033. The cuts should begin immediately to keep it balanced.

    (Between 1945 and 1965, the decline in worker-to-beneficiary ratios went from 41 to 4 workers per beneficiary.

    The Social Security program matured in the 1960s, when Americans were consistently having fewer children, living longer, and earning wages at a slower rate than the rate of growth in the number of retirees. As these trends have continued, today there are just 2.9 workers per retiree—and this amount is expected to drop to two workers per retiree by 2030.)

  80. Libturd in Union says:

    Give it? I don’t give them anything?

  81. yome says:

    Not TRUE.
    $4.48 T of the debt is held by the Fed Reserve due to QE. This are assets that can make money for the Fed when they sell or continue to hold and pay low interest rate. You can deduct that from what we owe.

    The biggest is SS Trust Fund – 27%. If the Right got their way and treat the debt as tax . Everyone will get a 25% haircut on benefits and will still be able to collect and pay from current workers 75% of promised. You can deduct that from the debt

    Foreign Government only holds less than 25% of our debt. We owe ourselves the debt. If the Right get their way,we dont have to pay this debt

    “The estimated population of the United States is 320,614,404
    so each citizen’s share of this debt is $56,643.03.”

    http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/10/12/chart-who-does-the-u-s-govt-owe-17-trillion-to/

  82. yome says:

    As i have said,Money coming in will be able to pay 75% of what is promised if nothing is done

    “The problem is there are more retirees than workers. So how do you compute what should be the correct amount of a social security check?”

  83. yome says:

    Then there will be no surplus. The government will not be able to play this game

    “Simplest and fairest way-adjust ALL checks to the current ratio of workers/retiree and the same ratio of percentage of income/payment.”

  84. phoenix says:

    Joyce, these are just a few Yelp comments about a NJ farm. I guess there are no young people that need jobs in NJ, or maybe they ask for sooooooo much money that they would bankrupt the place, somehow I don’t think so and this is another place I no longer visit. Question is, if the workers are imported, how do I know that the rest of the items are genuine?

    #1 Lots of the kids on the staff had Russian/Eastern European accents.
    #2There is Slovakian boy at the ticket booth where you checkout after the PYO & he has such an attitude and all smart comments that are nothing short of offensive. He obviously hates his job because with his comments & attitude he doesn’t want to keep it!
    #3Finally, it just doesn’t feel like a local farm. It is owned by a local guy, and he does a lot to support the community. But when you go there, the employees are always interns from Eastern Europe.
    #4I used to go here for all my pumpkin picking and apple picking even though I hated the place. The staff is rude if you’re lucky, nasty if you’re not.

  85. phoenix says:

    81 yome.
    That means someone got rooked for 25%. Would you like your paycheck, your savings, your income to be docked by 25%.
    But hey, who cares about 2033, I won’t be alive then. Long as my check cashes…….

  86. phoenix says:

    “Leave this world a little better than you found it.” Robert Baden-Powell

    Don’t cut it by 25% and say that is good enough….

  87. Libturd in Union says:

    Whoever is relying on SS to retire is a fool anyway.

  88. yome says:

    You are the one putting the seniors down saying they did not pay their fair share.

    If you cut the benefits today, you are saying the Fed not pay what it owed the Trust Fund. You are the one that is stiffing the current beneficiaries.

    81 yome.
    That means someone got rooked for 25%. Would you like your paycheck, your savings, your income to be docked by 25%.
    But hey, who cares about 2033, I won’t be alive then. Long as my check cashes…….

  89. yome says:

    The 25% haircut is if nothing is done. I simply explained to you that SS is not running in deficit yet, like you posted. The interest on the Trust Fund plus money collected is still in surplus

    phoenix says:
    May 19, 2015 at 11:37 am
    Seniors are greedy. If they paid their full share of taxes all along there would be no deficit in S.Security, Medicare, pension funds, etc.
    It’s a credit card. Everyone on this website pays their credit card in full every month, I would bet the fence on that just based on the posts they make.
    They would all be proud of that and say it’s the right thing to do.
    Yet here is the exception. It’s ok to ring up the Social security credit card, Medicare credit card and pension credit card as long as some other schmuck (younger) pays the bill for them. How these cretins look themselves in the mirror and are proud of it is appalling.
    Budgets should be balanced every year even if you need to bleed the taxpayers to death to do it.
    Then you would finally see spending come to a screeching halt.
    Hypocrites.

  90. D-FENS says:

    Yome, how many times have you posted that about ss now? Are we due for a refresher every month or every quarter or something?

  91. JJ’s playa glossary reminds me of this scene from Shameless (Season 4, Episode 7):

    Veronica(very pregnant): Stop it.
    Kevin(amorous): Aw, come on, V.
    Veronica: No. I’m too bloated and constipated.
    Kevin: I’ll f*ck it loose for you.
    Veronica: Ew!
    Kevin: I don’t mean in the butt.

    Read more at: http://transcripts.foreverdreaming.org/viewtopic.php?f=182&t=11268

  92. Fast Eddie says:

    phoenix [61],

    The “millenial” reference was a little dig towards past discussions here. :)

  93. yome says:

    It seems like being a “Political Mantra”. Some just refuse to research the truth if they dont believe what is being said. It just keeps on coming up on the thread

    D-FENS says:
    May 19, 2015 at 1:15 pm
    Yome, how many times have you posted that about ss now? Are we due for a refresher every month or every quarter or something?

  94. Simon says:

    http://www.marketplace.org/topics/wealth-poverty/about-half-america-has-zero-net-wealth

    Anyone with $1 positive net worth has more money than 1/2 the country.

    Don’t need to be a Walton.

  95. The Great Pumpkin says:

    So then why did Romney complain that only half the population pays taxes?

    Simon says:
    May 19, 2015 at 1:24 pm
    http://www.marketplace.org/topics/wealth-poverty/about-half-america-has-zero-net-wealth

    Anyone with $1 positive net worth has more money than 1/2 the country.

    Don’t need to be a Walton.

  96. NJT says:

    My Gas Station Story:

    Back in the early 80’s, I worked at a Hess station for a couple months part-time, last/late night shift. Chick about my age (good looking but nothing to pop a B over in seconds…even back then) was the station manager and her father owned it. If I remember correctly I met her in Business Law class.

    Anyway she begged me to work for her with promise of ‘extras’.

    Well, that never happened. Wasn’t a bad gig, though. Rather easy with some great perks.

    One day I come home from school and there’s a message on the answering machine from her father. Call him back. He says “You forgot to drop the money in the safe last night”. Tell him: Um, no, I did. Tells me he’s calling the Police and that I’m fired.

    – Back up for a second. He also said: “I know all the scams you
    guys got goin’ on but I can’t let this go, it’s too much
    ($500 +/-).

    Cops leave a message for me to come down to the station. I did.

    They tried EVERY tactic to get me to ‘confess’. I refused and then said (after about an hour?) “Am I under arrest?”. “No”. Bye.

    Never heard from them or the gas station owner again.

    Almost a decade later a girlfriend and I are walking out of a local restaurant as the station manager girl was walking in (with her father).

    I don’t remember all the talk but it was somthing like:

    “I’m SO SORRY I was a Cokehead and stole that night’s drop. How much was your dinner, I’ll pay for it”. Told her to drop dead. Old man said nothing.

  97. Comrade Nom Deplume, who needs to stop screwing around and get back to work says:

    I love all the talk about plundering funds and going after the accumulated wealth. The fact is, there is a reason you don’t hear the uber-wealthy sweating it. That’s because this isn’t 1918 and wealth isn’t determined by the size of your country estate and landholdings.

    Wealth is highly mobile and generally faster than government. By the time anon, Otto and their Red Guards went to seize it, it would no longer be there.

    And as for confiscation via the tax code (which is really what progressive taxation is intended to accomplish, read liberal economist Diamond on that), tax on capital is either passed through because it can be or, if it can’t be and capital is better deployed elsewhere, it is avoided altogether.

  98. anon (the good one) says:

    i agree with Grim that is pure stupidity, more than malice, if you don’t see something wrong here

    homeboken says:
    May 19, 2015 at 12:11 pm

    Today, the top 0.1% owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%,
    and one family owns more than the bottom 42%

    6 Waltons – $144.7 billion (Christy Walton, Jim Walton, Alice Walton, Ann Walton-Kroenke, Nancy Walton)

    42% of US Population – 133,938,000 (appx)

    and one family owns more than the bottom 42%.

  99. Fast Eddie says:

    Pumpkin Seed,

    I really couldn’t give a f.uck that the Waltons are worth billions. Good for them and for anyone else that finds a way to generate huge sums of wealth. As far as I’m concerned all these rich mother huckers need a supporting staff for them to make more money. That’s where we come in. You have a choice of being the guy pushing a broom to keep the place tidy or learning very specialized skills that will command a really nice wage. The more you learn and contribute, the more you make. The more you make, the better lifestyle and opportunity you create for your family. What a concept!

  100. Comrade Nom Deplume, who needs to stop screwing around and get back to work says:

    [68] phoenix

    ” In the hope of avoiding the taxman, many members of the wealthy classes had even fled to the countryside and set up independent fiefdoms.”

    Sound familiar? History doesn’t repeat but it does rhyme.

    And perhaps it can repeat. I can see Larry Ellison as the potentate of the Republic of Lanai.

  101. D-FENS says:

    I hope Abe Vigoda is ok.

  102. 1987 Condo says:

    I hope the other 8.7 billion people living outside the US don’t want us to equalize their pay or standard of living….

  103. phoenix says:

    86
    Fool or no fool. Are you planning to collect your check? Even if it is 10.00 per month I am sure you will insist on getting it. That is your right. Therefore, foolish or not most people are taking their check even if they are multimillionaires.

  104. The Great Pumpkin says:

    If that was the case, why would any intelligent individual be upset with income inequality or the waltons?

    Fast Eddie says:
    May 19, 2015 at 1:36 pm
    Pumpkin Seed,

    I really couldn’t give a f.uck that the Waltons are worth billions. Good for them and for anyone else that finds a way to generate huge sums of wealth. As far as I’m concerned all these rich mother huckers need a supporting staff for them to make more money. That’s where we come in. You have a choice of being the guy pushing a broom to keep the place tidy or learning very specialized skills that will command a really nice wage. The more you learn and contribute, the more you make. The more you make, the better lifestyle and opportunity you create for your family. What a concept!

  105. D-FENS says:

    Jesus Christ….this guy again?

    http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/05/self-serve_gas_not_happening_nj_senate_president_s.html

    State Senate President Stephen Sweeney has said it before and he’s saying it again: Drivers in New Jersey aren’t going to be pumping their own gas as long as he has any say in the matter.

    “I continue to support the full service requirement for New Jersey’s gas stations and I will oppose any attempt to rescind the law that has effectively served the best interests of the state’s motorists for decades,” Sweeney (D-Gloucester) said. “As long as I am Senate President, the ban on self-serve will stay in place.

  106. phoenix says:

    98. Sure does. Ha ha. One of the reasons I posted that part.
    Reminds me of someone with a NomPound!!!!
    It also should be a lesson on what not to do, be careful who you tax.
    Incentives are the way to go, but need to be CAREFULLY crafted with penalties for those who wish to skirt the rules.

  107. JJ says:

    I once had a “booty call” girl who even for me “jumped the shark” she liked to lick the double dip.

    You don’t lick the double dip even more wrong when the first dip was in my girlfriend and then a few hours later she liked to lick it clean. Yikes.

    The Original NJ ExPat says:
    May 19, 2015 at 1:19 pm
    JJ’s playa glossary reminds me of this scene from Shameless (Season 4, Episode 7):

    Veronica(very pregnant): Stop it.
    Kevin(amorous): Aw, come on, V.
    Veronica: No. I’m too bloated and constipated.
    Kevin: I’ll f*ck it loose for you.
    Veronica: Ew!
    Kevin: I don’t mean in the butt.

  108. anon (the good one) says:

    you’re really pleased with yourself, but your argument doesn’t make any sense. try harder

    Fast Eddie says:
    May 19, 2015 at 1:36 pm
    Pumpkin Seed,

    I really couldn’t give a f.uck that the Waltons are worth billions. Good for them and for anyone else that finds a way to generate huge sums of wealth. As far as I’m concerned all these rich mother huckers need a supporting staff for them to make more money. That’s where we come in. You have a choice of being the guy pushing a broom to keep the place tidy or learning very specialized skills that will command a really nice wage. The more you learn and contribute, the more you make. The more you make, the better lifestyle and opportunity you create for your family. What a concept!

  109. JJ says:

    I still crack up when I went to a Brooklyn disco back in the day with my Guido friends and my buddy Marco as a hottie went by turns to me and goes “I’d like to knock her box out” she heard him and he managed a rap out of it. I would have love them to get marry.

    Love the “meeting” story, hey dad how you meet Mom well I saw a hot piece of a$$ stroll by and I yell out I’d like to knock that box out, she turns around I knock that box out and poof here you are. So romantic

  110. anon (the good one) says:

    @BernieSanders:

    Let’s invest in young people by making tuition free at all public colleges.

    Today, I will introduce a revolutionary bill to do just that.

  111. chicagofinance says:

    Talk about hyperbole…….
    Hough’s comments on the newspaper site were met with strong criticism on social media and in the Duke community. A statement released to several media outlets over the weekend by Duke spokesman Michael Schoenfeld said: “The comments were noxious, offensive and have no place in civil discourse.”

    A professor in Duke’s African & African American Studies department, Mark Anthony Neal, posted an image of Hough’s comments last week on his blog under the title “#DearOldDuke: The Unchecked Racism of a Tenured Duke Professor.”

  112. chicagofinance says:

    Such a cogent comment…….thank you

    Simon says:
    May 19, 2015 at 1:24 pm
    http://www.marketplace.org/topics/wealth-poverty/about-half-america-has-zero-net-wealth

    Anyone with $1 positive net worth has more money than 1/2 the country.

    Don’t need to be a Walton.

  113. chicagofinance says:

    I am trying to answer this question, but honestly, I have no idea……the only educated guess I can muster would be “Bob Menendez”.

    joyce says:
    May 19, 2015 at 12:36 pm
    How are they able to legally do this? What entity is used to give them cover? What is the common variable every time?

    Oh yeah, if only we got the right people elected then everything would be better.

    The Great Pumpkin says:
    May 19, 2015 at 12:30 pm
    So true. In wildwood, nj, they would ship over all these russian teenagers to work during the summer. All hail the great business leaders, making this country better one day at a time.

  114. Xolepa says:

    (71) “So true. In wildwood, nj, they would ship over all these russian teenagers to work during the summer. All hail the great business leaders, making this country better one day at a time.”

    Pumpkin pie, you just proved to me that you have no brain. You generalized in that statement. That’s PREJUDICE on your part. Those teenagers were mostly non-russian as Russia does not let them go for fear of poisoning the spirit of anti-American propaganda. They are from other Slavic countries. Ask me how I know.

    Do you want me to lump Arabs and Hebrews into 1 category because they are both Semites?

  115. Fast Eddie says:

    you’re really pleased with yourself, but your argument doesn’t make any sense. try harder

    You know what makes sense? I make a living because of the evil rich guys. That makes sense. And part of that living goes into investments, that generates more money for me that in turn, gets reinvested and produces an even greater sum. I believe it’s called compounding (sarcasm included). My argument doesn’t make sense to you because you disagree with it. No, you feel contempt for it because your argument has no merit. It can’t be justified. It has no value, just like the progressive f.uckups you idolize.

  116. Fast Eddie says:

    Let’s invest in young people by making tuition free at all public colleges.

    Who the f.uck pays for it?

  117. FKA 2010 Buyer says:

    My first thought, who on the board would have thought about “govt owner and convenants pertaining to special assessments”? Excluding NY metro area, I wouldn’t expect the board to be so astute. Nevertheless, they are in tough spot. You want (I hope) to help out a wounded warrior but you do have to protect the rest of the owners in the association.

    Wounded Marine Faces Foreclosure After HOA Decision

    An injured Marine’s family say they may be facing foreclosure after their homeowners association denied their application to use a program designed for wounded warriors.
    Sgt. Keith McEwen, 29, and his wife Lindsay received news that they were approved for the Homeowners Assistance Program — which provides monetary relief to wounded, ill or injured service members by purchasing their home — after unsuccessfully trying to sell their home for nine months. McEwen is medically retiring from the Marine Corps because of injuries sustained while deployed on his third tour to Afghanistan and found out about the program while attached to the Wounded Warrior Battalion.

    The couple, who is planning to move back to Michigan with their two young daughters, thought the last hurdle of their transition was over.

    However, the Carolina Forest Community Service Association, managed by Advantage Gold Realty in Jacksonville, N.C., denied the McEwens’ waiver to use the program, citing “the underlying law and program that you would like to participate in does not supersede the Association Covenants and Restrictions,” according to correspondence obtained by The Daily News on the realty company’s letterhead.

    Because the home would be purchased by a federal entity, it was against the law for the government to sign onto a portion of the covenants pertaining to “special assessments,” which in addition to annual dues are required of each lot owner to cover a large community repair, for example. The federal government would cover the annual dues.

    “The obligation for owners of lots to pay assessments to the Association is established by the North Carolina Planned Community Act and the Association’s governing documents. Based on this Act and the governing documents, the Association does not have the legal authority to waive assessment obligations for any lot owner, including the owner of 1002 Summerfield Court, regardless of whether that property is owned by an individual or the federal government,” Beaudoin said in a statement emailed to The Daily News. “The Association must follow and adhere to the governing documents because these documents represent the covenants between all owners in the community. The Association has no ability to unilaterally modify the assessment provisions in these common covenants based on the request of any single purchaser, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the acquisition of the lot.”

    http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/servicing/wounded_marine_faces_foreclosure_after_hoa_decision-1051014-1.html?site=default_msn&utm_campaign=mortgage%20servicing%20news-may%2019%202015&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&ET=nationalmortgage%3Ae4404252%3A4504474a%3A&st=email

  118. JJ says:

    The buyer could agree to be personally responsible for the special assessments, case solved.

    Black people considering in resumes in the USA no pictures are ever allowed and blacks generally have WASP type white last names it makes little sense to name you kids Tankeka, Dazhawn, De Anté etc.

    Once a candidate shows up at a fortunue 500 company if he or she is black every effort is made to not show racism they have a good chance of being hired over even more qualified folks.

    However, one can choose not to bring them in for interview soley based on a resume which contains no picture, no race or religion or age. Blacks discriminate against themselves. It makes no sense. Asians are more sneaky so they do names like David etc. Blend in.
    FKA 2010 Buyer says:
    May 19, 2015 at 2:28 pm
    My first thought, who on the board would have thought about “govt owner and convenants pertaining to special assessments”? Excluding NY metro area, I wouldn’t expect the board to be so astute. Nevertheless, they are in tough spot. You want (I hope) to help out a wounded warrior but you do have to protect the rest of the owners in the association.

  119. leftwing says:

    “So then why did Romney complain that only half the population pays taxes?”
    Because the half paying taxes (you included) are supporting the half that doesn’t.

    “If that was the case, why would any intelligent individual be upset with income inequality or the waltons?” Too easy. None is.

  120. leftwing says:

    “i agree with Grim that is pure stupidity, more than malice, if you don’t see something wrong here
    Today, the top 0.1% owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%,
    and one family owns more than the bottom 42%”

    I know. I’ll never get over the stupidity of those seeking to take resources from the highly productive and give those resources to the unproductive. What possible sense can that make?

  121. NJT says:

    #117 JJ -Re: Names on Resumes

    I have a very ethnic first and last name (Most think that last one is Polish but it’s really Prussian if you know what that means and it is not pronounced how its spelled. – Grim would know). However, I’m 3rd/4th generation and only about a 1/4 of the name’s ethnic group. Whatever, there’s no doubt I’m white looking at my resume. Although a few have mistaken the name for Indian or something else.

    Over the years several recruiters thought my first name was that of a female. Played along once over the phone for a laugh (I got a cold…cough, cough). They didn’t find it funny but hey, they where looking for a woman so…no loss, to me.

  122. anon (the good one) says:

    but no free college

    @ianbremmer: USA

    37% of global military spending
    22% of global GDP
    4% of global population
    #Superpower

  123. yome says:

    Re: Expats renouncing Citizenship
    As long as they worked for 10 years and have 40 SS credits they qualify for SS payments. Their spouse that never work can get spousal benefit which is equal to 50% of their benefit. If they elect to collect at age 62, they can pay the whole thing back at their full retirement age INTEREST FREE and start collecting the higher benefit. All the loop holes that need to be closed.

    Collect and invest the money, pay back SS full amount zero interest at full retirement age and keep the interest. What a Country !!!

  124. grim says:

    “I continue to support the full service requirement for New Jersey’s gas stations and I will oppose any attempt to rescind the law that has effectively served the best interests of the state’s motorists for decades,” Sweeney (D-Gloucester) said. “As long as I am Senate President, the ban on self-serve will stay in place.

    Well there you go – no better example of the dysfunction of NJ politicians.

    Steve Sweeney the big fat bully says so.

  125. grim says:

    Double Repost.

    Simon says:
    May 19, 2015 at 1:24 pm
    http://www.marketplace.org/topics/wealth-poverty/about-half-america-has-zero-net-wealth

    Anyone with $1 positive net worth has more money than 1/2 the country.

    Don’t need to be a Walton.

  126. yome says:

    Re: Names
    My first and last name are both used as last name in this Country. My first name more often. I went to SS office to set up a online log on. Because I stopped my Credit. SS need to check for credit to set up online log on. The clerk made a mistake on putting my first as my last name. It took almost an hour that she can not find me until I said did you interchange my name? There it is

  127. grim says:

    Triple Repost – Only because it came from National Public Radio:

    Simon says:
    May 19, 2015 at 1:24 pm
    http://www.marketplace.org/topics/wealth-poverty/about-half-america-has-zero-net-wealth

    Anyone with $1 positive net worth has more money than 1/2 the country.

    Don’t need to be a Walton.

  128. JJ says:

    My old Neighbor growing up told my Mom name your son a name you would see on a Corner Office.

    She had a point. Name your son Leroy or your daughter Candy and both will end up working a pole. Leroy a mop and candy a stripper pole.

  129. The Great Pumpkin says:

    How is this statement correct, if the stats here say 42% of the population at 133,938,000? So how do I have more net worth than half the country?

    6 Waltons – $144.7 billion (Christy Walton, Jim Walton, Alice Walton, Ann Walton-Kroenke, Nancy Walton)

    42% of US Population – 133,938,000 (appx)

    and one family owns more than the bottom 42%.

    Simon says:
    May 19, 2015 at 1:24 pm
    http://www.marketplace.org/topics/wealth-poverty/about-half-america-has-zero-net-wealth

    Anyone with $1 positive net worth has more money than 1/2 the country.

    Don’t need to be a Walton.

  130. Statler Waldorf says:

    Photo gallery: China’s “nail houses” — the homeowners who refused to budge

    http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/19/asia/gallery/china-nail-houses

  131. anon (the good one) says:

    @BreakingNews:

    Los Angeles City Council votes to increase minimum wage to $15 an hour

  132. anon (the good one) says:

    @GuardianUS:

    Los Angeles becomes largest US city to raise minimum wage to $15

  133. anon (the good one) says:

    @FortuneMagazine:

    Facebook raised its minimum wage to at least $15/hour.

  134. chicagofinance says:

    I raise the minimum wage at my firm to $25/hour……of course everyone here makes more than that and we are not hiring…..net effect = 0

  135. FKA 2010 Buyer says:

    Heartattack waiting to happen…..

    NEW YORK (AP) — Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s are cramming a summer cookout into one burger.

    The upcoming menu item is made with a beef patty that is topped with a split hot dog. The meaty duo sits on a layer of Lay’s potato chips between hamburger buns. Ketchup, mustard, tomato, red onion, pickles and American cheese will be thrown in, too. The burger will have 1,030 calories and 64 grams of fat.

    “The hot dog is like a smoked meat product, so it’s not unlike bacon,” said Brad Haley, chief marketing officer of CKE Restaurants, the owner of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s

    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CARLS_JR_HARDEES_HOT_DOG_CHIP_BURGER?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-05-14-10-46-11

  136. Simon says:

    It is not correct. 133,938,000 is not dollars, its people. Homeboken’s post it seems mixed dollars and people, without a source. I merely provided a source and simple logic to debunk the post.

    I have no idea what your net worth is, so I can’t answer your question directly either.

    —————————————

    How is this statement correct, if the stats here say 42% of the population at 133,938,000? So how do I have more net worth than half the country?

    6 Waltons – $144.7 billion (Christy Walton, Jim Walton, Alice Walton, Ann Walton-Kroenke, Nancy Walton)

    42% of US Population – 133,938,000 (appx)

    and one family owns more than the bottom 42%.

    Simon says:
    May 19, 2015 at 1:24 pm
    http://www.marketplace.org/topics/wealth-poverty/about-half-america-has-zero-net-wealth

    Anyone with $1 positive net worth has more money than 1/2 the country.

    Don’t need to be a Walton.

  137. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Let me explain it like this. The economy is an ocean. There are a limited value on fish (money) in the ocean. At the beginning of this economy, every one had a fishing pole and were able to survive on their own by getting fish with this pole. Everyone shared in the resources together.

    Then as the economy matured, some individuals started to think of ways they could get more fish. They decided to build these giants ships and giant nets. Then these individuals began recruiting some of these other fisherman, who were using a pole to survive, to come survive by working on their big fishing boat. These individuals were lured by being able to have more than they were catching on their own with a single pole. So they were happy.

    These boats were extremely successful, so much so that they started to deplete the ocean of large amounts of fish. Soon the people fishing with poles could no longer find enough fish to eat like they had been used to. Instead, they were eating 1/2 of what they had eaten before. So now these fisherman go to the rich owners of the boats, can we work for you? The owner says yes, if only you will do it for less than the original workers. Of course they agree, and the cheaper fisherman take the more expensive fisherman’s job and create more profit for the owners of the boat.

    Eventually, the boats take all the fish. There is nothing left for others to survive on and they all die. Now the greedy boat owners have the ability to catch all this extra fish, but of what need is all this extra fish to them if there is no people left that can bring value to it. That profit is useless now, since there is nobody left to participate in the trade and bring value to the table.

    It’s not perfect, but I hope you get the point. The walmarts of the world are the big fishing boats. The fish represents money. The fishermen represent the consumer or market participants. When they lose their job or the ability to catch fish, they drop out of the market. There is a limited amount of fish aka money in the market since their value is tied to limited resources. By the Walton’s accruing so much money(fish), they are taking away other people’s ability to participate in the market. Meaning, you can’t have growth because where is the demand going to come from if people are catching less and less fish due to the Walton ships taking it all. Eventually, they will have most of it all leading to a collapse in that market.

    This is why income inequality scares me. It gets to a point where it suffocates the population so much, they start a revolution out of a need to survive.

    Fast Eddie says:
    May 19, 2015 at 1:36 pm
    Pumpkin Seed,

    I really couldn’t give a f.uck that the Waltons are worth billions. Good for them and for anyone else that finds a way to generate huge sums of wealth. As far as I’m concerned all these rich mother huckers need a supporting staff for them to make more money. That’s where we come in. You have a choice of being the guy pushing a broom to keep the place tidy or learning very specialized skills that will command a really nice wage. The more you learn and contribute, the more you make. The more you make, the better lifestyle and opportunity you create for your family. What a concept!

  138. The Great Pumpkin says:

    And I’m debunking you. You are telling me that the poor can’t come up with a dollar? They can’t go into debt because they can’t get credit. In general, debt is meaningless to them. They won’t pay it, and could care less. So based on this, you are telling me the bottom 50% of the population has a net worth of 1 dollar? How the hell do you come up with this number?

    Simon says:
    May 19, 2015 at 4:37 pm
    It is not correct. 133,938,000 is not dollars, its people. Homeboken’s post it seems mixed dollars and people, without a source. I merely provided a source and simple logic to debunk the post.

    I have no idea what your net worth is, so I can’t answer your question directly either.

  139. Ragnar says:

    Simon,
    People, dollars, who cares? Pimplekin feels in his gut that something is wrong, and it’s not just the hotdog topped hamburger he ate. Just because he doesn’t know how to divide a person by a dollar doesn’t mean his feelings that wealth should be confiscated and redistributed like some guy said on the internet, are worthless, does it?

    Actually, yes, it does mean that his feelings and what he poses as “thinking” are worthless. Which is why he has to dump his “thoughts” for free on an online forum that he’s already twice promised to leave forever, to the dismay of nobody.

  140. Ragnar says:

    Simon,
    People, dollars, who cares? Pimpkin feels in his gut that something is wrong, and it’s not just the hotdog topped hamburger he ate. Just because he doesn’t know how to divide a person by a dollar doesn’t mean his feelings that wealth should be conf1scated and red1stributed, are worthless, does it?

    Actually, yes, it does mean that his feelings and what he poses as “thinking” are worthless. Which is why he has to dump his “thoughts” for free on an online forum that he’s already twice promised to leave forever, to the dismay of nobody.

  141. JJ says:

    JPM- JP Morgan Chase stock hit and ALL TIME HIGH TODAY.

    That is amazing considering Citi did a ten for one reverse split and BAC did some hocus pocus back in financial crisis.

    JPM never did that and kept regularly raising dividends which is 44 cents a share vs Bank of Americas one cent a share.

    JPM actually had many stock splits over the years and still is at 67 impressive

  142. grim says:

    Yet, low-income America loves Walmart. Go figure.

  143. grim says:

    I keep trying to tell people that you need to be paying $150 for American made jeans or shoes, and not buying foreign crap for $20 at Walmart, but everyone thinks that I’m just being facetious.

  144. grim says:

    Working America should be buying Red Wings. Made in USA of USA materials, a bargain at $200 a pair.

    Instead, they are buying Walmart Survivor Workboots for $49.99, and knowingly saying “I Love the Waltons” and begging them to send their hard earned money to China. They buy more work boots from Walmart in a week than Red Wings probably sell in an entire year.

    See, it’s a bargain. Who is at fault here? The Waltons for selling them what they want? Or Joe Sixpack for buying them?

    Meanwhile, Red Wings lays off employees, cuts production hours, and starts importing boots and materials from China, to compete.

  145. joyce says:

    143
    Grim,
    I would solely blame the individuals shopping at Walmart… IF the goods weren’t being made in a certain region of the world for the purposes of employing slave labor and avoiding environmental property rights.

  146. grim says:

    Nope – It begins and ends with the checkout line. Every time someone checks out, they vote in favor of a lower standard of living and lower incomes. Frankly, it would be better for the US if we just all started shopping at consignment stores and the Salvation Army.

  147. leftwing says:

    “How is this statement correct, if the stats here say 42% of the population at 133,938,000? So how do I have more net worth than half the country?”

    Think hard there Spumkin. You’re next.

    Even if you appropriated all the Walton wealth it would only give $1,000 per person to the 42%. How long does that last, LOL. Where do the grabbing hands go next?

    There are many more of you than than there are Waltons…listen for footsteps.

    Liberal appropriation math simply does not work without punching into the working classes (see ObamaCare).

  148. leftwing says:

    For Spumkin

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t-gK-9EIq4

    View is the same from my seat.

  149. joyce says:

    145
    Some, not all, but some have no alternative to shop at “discount” retailers with mostly imported goods due to lack of alternatives financially and geographically.

  150. Jason says:

    143 and 145

    Exactly.

  151. D-FENS says:

    $20/pair. Made in South Carolina.

    http://www.texasjeans.com

  152. D-FENS says:

    150 continued…

    Ha! They have built in pockets for concealing firearms!

  153. D-FENS says:

    I outsource all of my clothing purchasing duties to my wife anyhow. I have no sense of style.

  154. The Great Pumpkin says:

    That’s the part you miss. 42% of the population will now have 1000 times more than their original net worth to be put back to work in the economy. Yes, they will spend every single dollar and create demand in the economy as that money spreads through the system. Right now too much money chasing investments, rather than consuming and creating demand which drives real growth in the economy. How do we know too much money is chasing investments rather than creating demand through purchasing?? The rates are at zero. That means they are trying to get you to borrow money to spend money. It’s not rocket science, sometimes the rich have to give back some to get the economy going again. They will get it all back and some as the economy actually grows. Why is this such a bad thing?

    leftwing says:
    May 19, 2015 at 6:11 pm
    “How is this statement correct, if the stats here say 42% of the population at 133,938,000? So how do I have more net worth than half the country?”

    Think hard there Spumkin. You’re next.

    Even if you appropriated all the Walton wealth it would only give $1,000 per person to the 42%. How long does that last, LOL. Where do the grabbing hands go next?

    There are many more of you than than there are Waltons…listen for footsteps.

    Liberal appropriation math simply does not work without punching into the working classes (see ObamaCare).

  155. yome says:

    One component of increasing value of US goods is the value of the US dollar.When the dollar is in a fair exchange value compare to other currencies,our exports is cheaper to customers abroad. Imported goods are more expensive for us to buy. Makes it more favorable to buy our own goods.
    This is one reason Walmart decided to start buying US goods. Chinese goods are getting expensive. Other 3rd world Countries are starting to compete.

    I dont understand why the US dollar will be strong when the Country has been running a large Trade Deficit specially to China. Currency Manipulation has been in fore front.With the start of AIIB a competition to a World Bank,China will not be able to manipulate its Currency

  156. chicagofinance says:

    Here is a better version……

    leftwing says:
    May 19, 2015 at 6:23 pm
    For Spumkin
    View is the same from my seat.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boPh5sYNG7I

  157. joyce says:

    So then raise rates above 0%

  158. Hughesrep says:

    155

    Transport costs count too. When oil got expensive transport costs from Asia went along with it. $60 oil will swing it back.

  159. Hughesrep says:

    Was a great piece on Frontiline years back about Rubbermaid and how they got involved with Walmart. Went from being a good solid manufacturing company based in Ohio to a brand name made in China with a bare US presence.

    Happens to every manufacturer who gets involved with a big box in every industry. Rheem used to be made in Arkansas, got involved with HD and Lowes and immediately moved all water heater manufacturing to Mexico. Literally watched it happen to not only them but many other plumbing and heating manufacturers.

  160. Hughesrep says:

    In the plumbing and heating industry probably 10 percent of what I sell is made in the U.S, or at least Canada. That is in dollar terms, not piece count.

    Mostly pipe, tough to ship and the overseas quality is lousy (China, India, UAE, Korea etc.) Guys will buy it knowing they will trash 10% of it and the numbers work in their favor. I think their is one U.S. Steel pipe manufacturer left? Maybe two In Canada.

  161. D-FENS says:

    THE REAL JOB CREATORS
    ENTREPRENEURS, OR AN ENTREPRENEURIAL PEOPLE?
    by Greg Forster
    5 . 18 . 15

    http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2015/05/the-real-job-creators

  162. leftwing says:

    DM a little rusty there huh. Did not realize they were touring so recently.

  163. leftwing says:

    154.

    So Spunk your argument basically comes down to who is the best allocator of capital. Those who created it, or those who don’t have any and need it.

    Your argument that appropriating wealth to put 14 pairs (rather than 12 pairs) of Chinese made special edition kix in someone else’s closet somehow raises the human condition for all is somewhat quaint if it weren’t so laughable.

    Me, I’ll stick with the winners. Those that created the capital probably know the best place to put it. If economic conditions are such that investment is not good, sidelines are better than p1ss1ng it into the wind.

  164. yome says:

    161
    Very nice article. Specially about Reagan. That was the reason I am a Republican. Not the kind of Republicans we have today. I wish the Republicans today go back to that principle.
    You can not forget the poor. Their dollar is your dollar profit in a business

  165. leftwing says:

    Republicans today do not know the meaning of the word principle.

    Look at the brother of the trained chimpanzee try to defend him and Iraq. Understandable I guess, family. Watching Rubio do it, incomprehensible.

    They don’t deserve to and likely won’t win another national election until they can get back to basic roots and common sense principles.

  166. leftwing says:

    Punkin

    Had this hanging on my office wall even before it was co-opted by a couple wild eyed righties.
    http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poems_copybook.htm

    Along with this. Kept it since HS. Even then I could sense self righteous arrogant b@st@rds and knew the inevitable outcome.
    http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/ozymandias

  167. leftwing says:

    And before I head out to toss a couple grey goose martinis with a friend one last question for the Punkin.

    Dog, Sow, or burnt finger?

  168. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I think you are looking at it from only one pt of view. If the 1% comes together and equally redistributes that 1,000 dollars to each individual in the bottom 42% of the population, will that money stay in the hands of the poor or will it eventually make its way back to the top? It’s not hurting the standard of living of the 1% and its medicine for the demand factor in the economy. That injection of money might eventually seem like an investment by the 1% if that money leads to new game changing technology or a new industry alltogether. Demand spurs investment, there is no arguing that.

    “Your argument that appropriating wealth to put 14 pairs (rather than 12 pairs) of Chinese made special edition kix in someone else’s closet somehow raises the human condition for all is somewhat quaint if it weren’t so laughable.”

  169. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Sums it up.

    yome says:
    May 19, 2015 at 9:13 pm
    161
    Very nice article. Specially about Reagan. That was the reason I am a Republican. Not the kind of Republicans we have today. I wish the Republicans today go back to that principle.
    You can not forget the poor. Their dollar is your dollar profit in a business

  170. joyce says:

    Problem is the “winners” these days are more and more often the result of investing in govt favors than they are in real economic activity. (which is not to say I agree with any of the “solutions” put forth by some of the characters out there)

    leftwing says:
    May 19, 2015 at 9:07 pm

    Me, I’ll stick with the winners. Those that created the capital probably know the best place to put it.

  171. joyce says:

    Agreed. If one’s lucky, the red team will pay lip service to individual responsibility and blah blah… while working for the well-connected.
    Why can’t you see the same thing about the blue team only paying lip service to other concepts?…

    yome says:
    May 19, 2015 at 9:13 pm
    161
    Very nice article. Specially about Reagan. That was the reason I am a Republican. Not the kind of Republicans we have today. I wish the Republicans today go back to that principle.
    You can not forget the poor. Their dollar is your dollar profit in a business

  172. leftwing says:

    Punkin

    Maybe its the four martinis (oops) but let me get this straight….

    The people who created capital ought to take their returns and give it to the underclass to spend, the profits of which will either ‘trickle up’ back to the original owners or in some Fantasia land find a new game changing technology that would not have otherwise been found without income redistribution and also benefit the owners of said capital more directly than them investing in such game changing technology themselves?

    Question, when you drive from NYC to home, do you go by way of Cleveland?

  173. premuto per una delle grandi partizioni che nascondevano i bagni dalla galleria. Essi erano appena riusciti a nascondersi prima che Fache aveva sfrecciò davanti a loro,golden goose bambino, pistola spianata, e scomparve in bagno. Gli ultimi 60 secondi erano stati una sfocatura. Langdon era rimasto in piedi all’interno della stanza mens rifiutando di correre da un crimine che non ha ancora commesso,golden goose uomo 2015, quando Sophie ha iniziato guardando la vetrata ed esaminando la rete d

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