Location and Access to Opportunity are Expensive

From MarketWatch:

Opinion: Home prices keep rising — mostly for the rich

Residential housing is robust again, perhaps even bubbly. But instead of threatening to inflict another economic collapse on the U.S., rising home prices in fact may be reflecting a lopsided market — where the wealthy are ensconced in cities that are mostly unaffordable to everyone else.

Ineed, it appears that inequality and lack of demand for cheaper homes characterize the housing market nowadays.

First, a comparison between median home prices and median household income shows that one year’s worth of income buys as small a percentage of a house (less than 20%) as it did at the peak of the bubble.

But comparing median income to the median sales price, though important, may not reveal all the nuances of the market. For example, according to a recent report from the Urban Institute (UI), the housing market looks healthier in that total housing equity now exceeds total housing debt, $13.2 trillion to $10 trillion. By contrast, from late 2006 through mid-2012 debt had exceeded equity.

Affordability is defined as the maximum affordable price is the house price that a family can afford putting 20% down, with a monthly payment of 28% of median family income, at the Freddie Mac prevailing rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgage, and property tax and insurance at 1.75% of housing value.

In fact, the data show unaffordability in 13 of 37 MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas). And, according to a Zillow report using data from Harvard’s Equality of Opportunity Project, the worst affordability is in areas that historically have given parents the best opportunities to ensure better futures for their children. According to Zillow, “home values have increased sharply in the very same metro areas that offer a path to a prosperous future — and incomes have not kept up.”

So powerful is the return on real estate that a recent Brookings Institution paper refuting the thesis of controversial economist Thomas Piketty (that greater return accrues to capital rather than to labor), allowed for an exception in residential real estate as an asset that has appreciated meaningfully.

The Brookings paper didn’t focus on where real estate has appreciated the most. But from 2004 through 2015, real estate appreciated by 21% in the most expensive zip codes, and by 13% in the bottom 90% of zip codes.

The price disparity in housing between the high- and low ends of the housing market is as large as it’s been since World War II. So while it’s unlikely there’s another debt-fueled real estate crisis that will tank the global economy, real estate now reflects a different set of problems.

This entry was posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, National Real Estate. Bookmark the permalink.

184 Responses to Location and Access to Opportunity are Expensive

  1. Juice Box says:

    Buy now or be priced out foreva.

  2. Grim says:

    So democrats that live in NJ are directly contributing to inequality simply because they have coastal privilege.

    Got it.

  3. GOP's broken (the good one) says:

    Thanks to President Obama

    @NickTimiraos
    Share of homeowners with a mortgage who owe more than their home is worth

    2012: 31.4%
    2016: 12.7%

  4. GOP's broken (the good one) says:

    @NickTimiraos

    Four years ago, 71% of Las Vegas homeowners with a mortgage owed more than their home was worth.
    Now: 20%

  5. grim says:

    Thanks President Obama for making housing more expensive, significantly crippling housing affordability, and directly contributing to wealth inequality in America.

  6. grim says:

    Isn’t it funny how they mean the same thing?

  7. GOP's broken (the good one) says:

    Gary recently upgraded. even he can afford a house

    grim says:
    June 9, 2016 at 8:19 am
    Thanks President Obama for making housing more expensive and significantly crippling housing affordability.

  8. grim says:

    From the Corelogic Negative Equity Reports

    New Jersey Statewide
    2014 Q1 – 14.1%
    2015 Q1 – 13.1%
    2016 Q1 – 12.1%

  9. GOP's broken (the good one) says:

    Hil will inherit a sizzzzzzzling economy

    @Business
    Has America run out of workers to fill its open jobs?

    The number of openings rose to 5.8 million in April, from 5.7 million in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That number is tied with July’s results for the highest number of openings since the recovery began. Hires, meanwhile, fell to 5.1 million, from 5.3 million, over the same period.

    That “suggests that firms may be having difficulty in finding qualified employees in a tightening job market,” Drew Matus, an economist at UBS Securities LLC, wrote on Wednesday. The headline on his analysis was “Has The Well Run Dry?”

  10. Grim says:

    I think NJ peak was somewhere around 15.5%

  11. GOP's broken (the good one) says:

    @AP

    BREAKING:

    Weekly applications for unemployment benefits fell by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000

  12. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I mean what did people expect with almost all of the gains in the economy going to the top. Did they expect the bottom 50% of the market to magically pickup under conditions of no growth in income and limited opportunities for jobs that can support the ability to buy a home?

    This is exactly why I spoke on here about the problems with income inequality. It distorts and cripples the economy over time. Sooner or later, you have to hit the refresh button in capitalism and redistribute capital back into the bottom of the economy, and let it work its’ way back up which will lead to growth and even more capital in the system. So the top will get that money back and some, and the economy will be so much stronger for it. This extreme concentration of wealth is not good for anyone.

    Wait till it fuc#s up the retail market, if it hasn’t already done so. I would think all those big box/low cost online retailers are a direct result of the concentration of wealth. So you have a market that sells cheap garbage, or top of the line high end products. Basically, you only have the high end of the market creating good jobs. The cheap products just add fuel to the destruction of wages and jobs, since they are based on the lowest cost possible. You need a middle class consumer that demands middle class products that create middle class jobs. With the creation of middle class jobs, you will create a demand for middle class housing. This is a sign of a strong economy, too bad we let all the new wealth created land in the hands of a few at the top.

    “Residential housing is robust again, perhaps even bubbly. But instead of threatening to inflict another economic collapse on the U.S., rising home prices in fact may be reflecting a lopsided market — where the wealthy are ensconced in cities that are mostly unaffordable to everyone else.”

  13. nwnj3 says:

    If Blamer’s economy is any indication, Hil would be great for billionaires, 1%, stock holders and anyone with net positive assets. Inequality has exploded and there’s no reason to believe it will be any different with her.

    For anyone hoping to join the economic ladder? Not so great. Asset prices are inflated across the board and wages in many fields have stagnated for 20 years so be prepared to pay usury prices for your piece of the American dream. Though I’m sure Hil will offer you a great subsidy for sitting on the couch at home if that arrangement suits you.

    I think that formula makes her a tough sell to anyone from the working classes. The writing is on the wall for those folks, Wall St and the 1% underwrote her campaign and bought her platform with the phony appearance fees so she’ primed to continue facilitating the slash and burn of any private industry career fields that still offer a standard of living above what is commanded in Mexico or Asia.

  14. grim says:

    Big Business and the 1% are voting for Hillary.

    She’s a known quantity and can be bought.

    Trump is an unknown, too risky, and his protectionist policies may have economic/business ramifications.

    Hillary probably won’t upset the apple cart.

    Besides, the best part is that Bill is back in the White House – pretty sure he isn’t just going to be redecorating. Two presidents for the price of one.

    Trump and the Clintons are both dirty, with skeletons, so that just cancels out.

  15. nwnj3 says:

    Totally agree but her cash grabs have been so blatant I think it’s turned off a lot of the blue collar Democrats.

    She can buy off the public workers unions and teachers union but the trades and private sector unions will continue to be sold out. Previously those folks have no where to turn but Trump is welcoming them with open arms.

  16. grim says:

    I firmly believe Trump U is the scandal that sinks Trump.

    Big time.

    The judiciary will hang him.

    The payoff of Pam Bondi hasn’t gotten nearly the press it deserves. Wait till she goes to jail.

    The message is that Trump exploits Joe Sixpack, not helps him.

    Wait till Hillary starts running attack ads with testimonials from these folks.

  17. nwnj3 says:

    I don’t think it’s the deciding issue but it is damaging. The bigger problem is his ego lack of campaign discipline. He shoots from the hip and ends up saying a lot of inexcusable things.

  18. GOP's broken (the good one) says:

    who else would had picked W twice

    @Nate_Cohn

    There’s evidence the electorate is whiter, older and less educated than generally believed

  19. Libturd questioning the gender of Hillary's Cankle fluid. says:

    Fab. Name is Carl Nielson at Mortgage Master. Let me know if he beats your numbers. I noticed that rates are dipping super low again. Too bad I can’t take advantage. I’m now approaching ten years left at my two homes. Not bad considering I purchased the first in 2004 and the second in 2011.

  20. Juice Box says:

    re # 1 6 – Pot calling kettle black.

    THE CLINTON UNIVERSITY SCANDAL?

    “But did you know that Bill Clinton was a university chancellor? I didn’t either. There he is, over to the left. Moreover, he was paid $16 million by Laureate International Universities to be their “honorary” chancellor. Just think how much Slick Willie could have pulled down if he’d been a real chancellor. Just what is Laureate International University? It’s the parent company of Walden University, a mostly online, for-profit diploma mill that is facing the same kind of civil suits and fraud allegations as Trump University. Funny how the media seems to be uninterested in this story.”

    http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2016/06/the-clinton-university-scandal.php

  21. Amerigeddon says:

    NIRP means virtually no carry on ownership of PMs.

    There is no other story.

    Prepare for the final days.

  22. Joyce says:

    We tried to do that about 8 years ago but corrupt politicians, special interests, lobbyists and idiots like you wouldn’t let us. Not only was it prevented, but it’s still defended by the aforementioned groups.

    The Great Pumpkin says:
    June 9, 2016 at 9:15 am
    Sooner or later, you have to hit the refresh button in capitalism

  23. Libturd questioning the gender of Hillary's Cankle fluid. says:

    I think Trump loses simply because he represents that 1% that the majority detests. Though the Clintons are certainly part of that group as well, they don’t put their name on the sides of buildings in 10,000 point Helvetica. The Bernie supporters, though hating on both, will eventually find Cankles much more progressive than Trump that enough of them will vote for her to tilt the scales. It’s a shame our system is so rigged in favor of the corporatocracy. In the end, regardless of whether it’s Trump or Cankles, big business wins again and we get to enjoy the crumbs.

    I watched Mad Max Fury Road last night with Gator Jr., I couldn’t help but make comparisons between the Citadel under the rule of Immortan Joe and current day Washington DC.

  24. Except the skeletons are literal for the Clintons.

    Trump and the Clintons are both dirty, with skeletons, so that just cancels out.

  25. metroplexual says:

    They are going to hang the Donald by his lack of business acumen and his scary foreign policy. I know someone at Brookings and that is what is the gameplan for now.

  26. I have line on my 10 year Treasury chart labeled simply “Fed panic” at 1.691% 10 year yield. 10 year yields dropped to 1.7% yesterday and to 1.66% as of right now. This is usually where Yellen gets on the blower to Draghi and Carney.

  27. Amerigeddon says:

    No carry on PMs. ZIRP 4eva replaced by NIRP 4eva/Brexit/declining earnings/1.7% 10y.

    Any questions?

  28. Amerigeddon says:

    When it’s all said and done, Yellen will be selling her body in nursing homes.

  29. Amerigeddon says:

    I haven’t seen my inbox filled with so many Santelli rants since, well, the last time everything turned to shit.

  30. joyce says:

    Flipping around the radio earlier, I heard our Fat @ss governor’s voice. He was a guest on sports talk radio.

    At one point he said honestly and shamelessly, that he told his wife when he began (what is now about 16 years of) public service it was to build toward making serious money afterwards. Lobbyist anyone? He also said he and his wife don’t consider his gov salary (175k) or a potential VP salary (230k) is a lot of money. I hope some blogger picks that up.

    [Not counting the non-salary compensation they get, what does a Governor or VP etc actually spend money on during their time? They have housing, medical, transportation. Donors let them use places for vacation, golf, etc.]

  31. 1987 Condo says:

    Here is my plan for Trump to gain Bernie voters….(and I am taking “credit” for this)..
    to deal with the job dislocations in certain part of our economy, Coal Miners, Steel/Auto, other designated fields, instead of “job training” or other “programs”…we use those funds to provide FREE College Tuition…yes indeed…to the children of the workers adversely affected….of course you need to get a degree that matters (TBD)…but this gives hope those impacted workers hope that their children will have a better future.
    We can put in the required procedures/requirements as needed..such as valid degrees(STEM/Business/Healthcare), etc…

  32. 1987 Condo says:

    NJ Supreme Court hands Christie win in pension suit

    The state Supreme Court has ruled against New Jersey public worker unions and retirees in a multibillion-dollar case, declining to restore cost-of-living adjustments that have been frozen since 2011 under a pension reform law signed by Governor Christie.

    In a 6-1 vote, the high court once again sided with Christie over the state’s powerful labor unions in a case with large implications for the state’s finances….

    http://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-supreme-court-hands-christie-win-in-pension-suit-1.1613349

  33. joyce says:

    will be cleared

    Associated Press

    STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. — Authorities say a Georgia police officer responded to the wrong house and shot the homeowner.

    The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a news release Henry County police asked the agency to investigate the shooting Wednesday at a Stockbridge home.

    The GBI says someone called 911 a little before midnight Tuesday to report hearing a woman yelling for help and gunshots. The GBI says a preliminary review of the 911 call indicates the three officers who responded went to the wrong home.

    The GBI says the officers were met by the homeowner, 63-year-old William Powell, who had a handgun. One of the officers shot Powell in the neck when he didn’t obey officers’ commands to drop the gun.

    Powell was taken to a hospital for treatment. His condition was unknown.

  34. Libturd questioning the gender of Hillary's Cankle fluid. says:

    Condo,

    Thanks for the pension link. I’m not celebrating the pension victory for the taxpayer. But it does delay NJ’s inevitable bankruptcy just slightly.

  35. 1987 Condo says:

    #35..enough to get out of here…….

  36. Libturd questioning the gender of Hillary's Cankle fluid. says:

    I never did understand COLA adjustments in a pension. It’s bad enough that the actuary tables are already based on pie in the sky projections. Add that the payouts must account for inflation and simply, “come on now!”

  37. Juice Box says:

    What did Prieto the plumber say? We just need to get to the money or something like that. Thank your stars the courts ruled in Christie’s favor, 5 years of back pay on COLA, you won’the get that with a gas tax increase.

  38. Amerigeddon says:

    We’re all screwed nine ways to Tuesday.

    Drink up, and make merry. It’s all fading to black.

  39. Juice Box says:

    re: # 39 – Even without COLA increases of $500 million annually the unfunded pension obligation increased by just over $2 billion last year, and will continue to rise as the fund is decreasing what 6% a year?

    So yes we will be getting an increase. It will be an election year in 2017. I suspect a massive gas tax increase is coming as as a stop gap.

  40. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Despicable.

    Wow, he has some nerve saying that about the pay after going after teachers with an avg salary of 68,000. He painted the picture that they were killing it. Glad he is finally acknowledging that is chump change in a world economy turned upside down by income concentration. He would never work any job for 68,000. Not many professionals with advanced degrees would. Could you picture trying to raise a family on 68,000 in jersey? Nothing glorified about that kind of salary in a state like this, but somehow he painted that picture and turned the populace against the teaching profession. Meanwhile, his photographer makes 100 k and he is now claiming that 230k is not a lot of money. Gotta love politicians. Love dividing the populace and taking the attention off themselves.

    joyce says:
    June 9, 2016 at 11:18 am
    Flipping around the radio earlier, I heard our Fat @ss governor’s voice. He was a guest on sports talk radio.

    At one point he said honestly and shamelessly, that he told his wife when he began (what is now about 16 years of) public service it was to build toward making serious money afterwards. Lobbyist anyone? He also said he and his wife don’t consider his gov salary (175k) or a potential VP salary (230k) is a lot of money. I hope some blogger picks that up.

    [Not counting the non-salary compensation they get, what does a Governor or VP etc actually spend money on during their time? They have housing, medical, transportation. Donors let them use places for vacation, golf, etc.]

  41. Juice Box says:

    Pumps – write a check for a minimum of $20,000 to close the gap in the Pension Funds. That is your share.

  42. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I wonder if Christie and other governors were getting paid by wall st to deliberately not pay the pension. It’s a rather brilliant plan to send our credit rating down the tubes so we pay higher interest rates to his boys on wall st. Really, who is to say this isn’t their plan?

    Juice Box says:
    June 9, 2016 at 1:22 pm
    re: # 39 – Even without COLA increases of $500 million annually the unfunded pension obligation increased by just over $2 billion last year, and will continue to rise as the fund is decreasing what 6% a year?

    So yes we will be getting an increase. It will be an election year in 2017. I suspect a massive gas tax increase is coming as as a stop gap.

  43. The Great Pumpkin says:

    So they can raid it again?

    Juice Box says:
    June 9, 2016 at 1:34 pm
    Pumps – write a check for a minimum of $20,000 to close the gap in the Pension Funds. That is your share.

  44. Juice Box says:

    Pumps look at the budgets of the last 5 governors, and then come back and tell us who and why they did not fund the pension.

    As I have been saying all along and as the courts have just ruled again take the taxpayer off the hook.

    Then next step is give the whole pension fund to the CWA or whatever union and let them manage it, with no taxpayer backstop.

  45. D-FENS says:

    Diamond and Silk® ‏@DiamondandSilk 14h14 hours ago
    .@donlemon when a black defendant feels like they wont get a fair trial, with an all white jury, does that make the black defendant racist?

  46. Essex says:

    14. Trump is better known than most people think, they just don’t like what they see.

  47. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

    [33] condo

    Hee hee, bring on the strife

  48. 1987 Condo says:

    Here is your superintendent list (full disclosure…my wife did crack the $60,000 mark after 11 years teaching HS Math..but that is for an actual “direct provider” not a fancy administrator!)

    http://patch.com/new-jersey/verona/s/fs1a4/all-n-j-school-superintendents-salaries-in-2016-ranked-highest-to-lowest?utm_source=alert-breakingnews&utm_medium=email&utm_term=schools&utm_campaign=alert

    Here is top 10:

    Here is the list:
    1. Mark Finkelstein MIDDLESEX CO REG SERVICES $266,463
    2. Jacqueline A, Young ESSEX CO EDUCATIONAL SERVICES $253,926
    3. Lynn Trager TENAFLY $250,159
    4. Camelle D. Anderson NEWARK $247,500
    5. Howard Lerner BERGEN COUNTY VOCATIONAL $243,547
    6. John Fauta WEST NEW YORK $241,735
    7.Diana Lobosco PASSAIC COUNTY VOCATIONAL $240,489
    8. Paul Fried MONTVILLE $237,707
    9.Marcia Lyles JERSEY CITY $231,000
    10.Richard Kaplan NEW BRUNSWICK $230,000

  49. D-FENS says:

    Breaking Poll=> Trump on Track to Win More Black Votes Than Any GOP Candidate Since 1960

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/06/trump-track-win-black-votes-republican-candidate-since-1960/

    A new poll by Big Data and posted at FOX Latina found Donald Trump has 26% support from African Americans.

    As reported previously…
    Blacks today make up 22% of the Democratic vote. If Democrats lost 25% of the black vote they would lose Virginia, Florida, Ohio and North Carolina.

    (Washington Post)

    If Trump skims 25% of black voters from the Democratic Party he would win the 2016 election in a landslide.

    The last Republican to win over 25 percent of the non-white vote was Richard Nixon in 1960.
    Nixon won 32% of non-white voters to Kennedy’s 68%.

  50. D-FENS says:

    Out of work people from the rust belt including blacks might find Trumps “America First” trade policies attractive…

  51. Mike says:

    Wonder how many employees from Fortune 500 companies get cost of living adjustments in their pensions? If they’re getting a pension at all?
    Close to none?

  52. The Great Pumpkin says:

    You can say whatever you want about the pension, but it’s wrong to take money forcefully from current employees with the agreement that it is going towards their pension when it’s clearly not. No one sees anything wrong with that?

    I will never attack these workers no matter how unfair one thinks the pension system is. The people really getting screwed here our your regular workers who need that money for retirement. Your state workers that top out at 50,000 are the ones taking it in the a$$. They are contributing to a retirement plan that they will never get. Beyond messed up, but hey, it’s the world that we live in. I got mine, screw you.

  53. The Great Pumpkin says:

    You have it all backwards, dude. Instead of fighting to take the pensions away from the workers who still have it, you should be fighting to bring the pensions back.

    How come certain private companies like Ernst & Young still have a pension in place? Think hard. How come they can do it, but these other’s can’t?

    Mike says:
    June 9, 2016 at 2:18 pm
    Wonder how many employees from Fortune 500 companies get cost of living adjustments in their pensions? If they’re getting a pension at all?
    Close to none?

  54. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Mike, check it out.

    “Check out a more updated breakdown of pensions/401K’s in my post on defined benefit vs. defined contribution retirement plans.

    Today’s Retirement Reality
    Most twenty-somethings have never and (unfortunately) probably will never sniff the sweet security provided by a pension plan. So what are these mysterious things called pensions that many of our parents and grandparents lean on in their retirement? Why are they disappearing? And what are our chances of ever getting one? This is an essential issue for our generation, and I encourage you to read on and actively lobby your employer should you see fit. If you want change, it has to start with someone. Why not you?

    What is a Pension?
    pension vs 401kA pension is basically another word for a retirement plan. There are two types of pensions.

    1. Defined Contribution Plan
    A defined contribution plan is a type of pension where an employee, employer, or both contribute funds to an employees retirement plan. 401(k)’s are defined contribution plans. These plans are dependent on the returns of the investments that are chosen within them.

    2. Defined Benefit Plans
    A defined benefit plan is what most of us commonly refer to as a ‘pension’. These plans offer guaranteed automatic payouts in retirement based on a formula that usually takes into account your salary and years of service. The longer you work and the more you make, the higher your automatic payouts. Most employers offered defined benefit plans at one point. Social Security is a type of defined benefit plan.

    The History of the Pension
    For generations, pensions were the retirement plan standard for just about every employer. This may be hard to believe, but it wasn’t until the early 1980’s that 401(k)’s even existed. Ironically, 401(k)’s were originally added to the IRS code as a way for companies to offer additional retirement benefits to high ranking executives, above and beyond their defined pensions. This didn’t last long.

    Over time, most employers have made the shift from defined benefit pensions to 401(k)’s. 401(k)’s were sold as the fresh new thing, giving employees all of the power to choose their own investments. In reality, they were often times a low to modest cost savings over their defined benefit counterparts. The combination of the appeal to the American individualistic ambition and cost cutting possibilities were the perfect storm to sell 401(k)’s over their elder relative.

    A Pension Story that Hits Home
    My father retires on May 1st. He put in 36 years with the State of Michigan. At one point in the early 90’s, the State offered him a 401(k) cash exchange for the existing value of his defined benefit pension. He turned it down. It was the wisest decision he ever made. In May, he will begin to receive over $3,000 per month in pension benefits above and beyond his living expenses. And this doesn’t even include Social Security, or the 401(k) that he started from scratch! He’s set for life and has the security in knowing that his pension benefits are safe and guaranteed.

    Could he have had a bigger payout if he switched? Maybe, but most likely not. The stock market hasn’t advanced in the last 12 years, after all. Either way, I’m almost positive that he’s been able to sleep a whole lot easier back then and he certainly is now.

    Eliminating the Security of Pensions
    Unfortunately, stories like my father’s are disappearing. Not only has the guaranteed security of pensions been attacked, but I fear that we’ve hit a critical point of no return. 401(k)’s are now so ingrained in our culture that pensions are viewed as a Jurassic, boring old benefit of yesteryear.

    To add insult to injury, employers have not only changed the plans, but they’ve scaled back the benefits as well. Many of my peers have 401(k)’s that only offer a 2 or 3% max 401K match. How can anyone retire on that, especially in light of recent market turmoil?? That kind of limited benefit is an absolute tragedy.

    Even Social Security, a type of defined benefit pension, is under attack. Had the Bush administration gotten its wish, it would have shifted to private management as well. Right before one of the biggest drops in stock market history.

    An Increase in Employee Turnover Without Pensions
    Another unintended consequence of this benefit switch is employee turnover. At present, the employer turnover rate in the U.S. is over 40% per year! It didn’t use to be that way. Defined benefits offered employees a strong incentive to stay around and be loyal to their employers. How many baby boomers do you know that have been at their job for 20, 30, or 40 years? Sure, there has been a cultural shift away from loyalty in the workplace, but with the disappearance of pensions, is there any wonder why?

    Why should employers care? They were able to cut some costs, after all, and that’s good, right? Here’s why they should care – it’s been estimated that employee attrition costs 12 to 18 month’s salary for each leaving manager or professional, and 4 to 6 months’ pay for each leaving clerical or hourly employee. When employees don’t stick around for 3 years, these costs start to add up.

    Instead of a loyal, efficient, 35 year lifer, you’re looking at 13 employees who come and leave as soon as they get the skills they wanted to grow, or as soon as they get bored. They have no incentive to stay! So are employers really saving money? I’d argue that they are not. They have cut off their nose to spite their face. And they are paying enormous costs to do so.

    You want a Pension?
    Lobby your employer. Get others to join your cause. Help your employer research the costs of running such a plan, and the potential savings benefits over 401(k)’s that come from lower employee turnover. Appeal to them on their level – they want to keep good employees, and they want to lower costs that come from having to recruit, hire, train, and get new employees up to snuff. Work with them, not against them. Any research that you can provide regarding potential cost and talent savings is going to help your cause.”

    http://20somethingfinance.com/pensions-vs-401ks-why-you-should-care-that-pensions-are-going-extinct/

  55. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

    Josh Earnest just resurrected “you didn’t build that.”

  56. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

    [54] pumps

    You do realize that employers aren’t required to give pensions, right?

  57. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Nom, some kind of retirement plan has to be put in place for workers. 3% matching 401k is pointless. If we continue down this road of destroying retirement income, we are going to have major fuc!ing problems with the elderly populations when these generations with no pensions and pathetic matching 401k programs start to hit retirement age. Going to be a disaster. It’s wrong in every way possible to short change the retirement plans of the current 20-40 year olds. Wrong in every fuc!ing way.

    Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:
    June 9, 2016 at 2:41 pm
    [54] pumps

    You do realize that employers aren’t required to give pensions, right?

  58. The Great Pumpkin says:

    58- Current retirees are from the generation with good retirement programs, and they are struggling. Wtf is going to happen when almost 90% of the retirees have no reticent program in place whatsoever? Start raising taxes to subsidize their ability to live? What will we have; social security 2.0?

  59. Juice Box says:

    re # re: “they are struggling.”

    BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Cut your check then your share is $20k to the state pension fund.

  60. Ben says:

    Current retirees are from the generation with good retirement programs, and they are struggling. Wtf is going to happen when almost 90% of the retirees have no reticent program in place whatsoever? Start raising taxes to subsidize their ability to live? What will we have; social security 2.0?

    Too many of them got burned in that so called investment that can’t lose.

  61. homeboken says:

    Any employee that rallies her co-workers to “lobby management” to start a pension program will very quickly find themselves laid off. Management views this as unionization attempts of employees and will squash this uprising so fast your head would spin.

  62. Mike says:

    Pump I’m not against them getting a pension, but was just trying to make a comparison with what the private sector gets.

  63. Tywin says:

    Trump U has a 98% approval rating, including rave reviews (posted at the below link) from the people who filed the lawsuit against Trump:

    http://www.98percentapproval.com

    The “mainstream” media no longer control the narrative, and cannot damage trump with their lame faux “outrages” every few days, because people don’t care about those side issues — instead they care about:

    1) Securing our borders.

    2) Fixing our trade agreements.

    3) Stopping the flow of factories and jobs to other countries.

    4) Stopping the relentless importing of foreign nationals into the country to replace American workers (both blue collar and white collar).

    5) Stop caving to every whim and faux outrage put forward by the “mainstream” media, which has created two political parties that were indistinguishable from each other (see: Paul Ryan, et al).

  64. Tywin says:

    And Hillary has her own university scandal:

    “Hillary University: Bill Clinton Bagged $16.46 Million from For-Profit College as State Dept. Funneled $55 Million Back”

    http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/06/02/hillary-university-bill-clinton-bagged-16-46-million-from-for-profit-college-as-state-dept-funneled-55-million-back

  65. Essex says:

    16. not to mention demographics. Trump has a narrow appeal.

  66. Essex says:

    64. Most have buyers’ remorse, wouldn’t you say?

  67. Essex says:

    63. Apples & Oranges.

  68. Juice Box says:

    re# 66- Like the disenfranchised Bernie supporters? They all know Pres Obama recorded his endorsement even before the votes were counted on Tuesday. I don’t think Hillary has a chance in hell of winning without them, there just aren’t enough old ladies to pull the lever. I have my doubts whether Bernie is going to go away before convention at the end of August.

  69. Pete says:

    “A new poll by Big Data and posted at FOX Latina found Donald Trump has 26% support from African Americans.”

    Yeesh, check the source on those numbers. And to extrapolate that in to “Trump on Track to Win More Black Votes Than Any GOP Candidate Since 1960” is either ignorance or a weak attempt at propaganda.

    “If Trump skims 25% of black voters from the Democratic Party he would win the 2016 election in a landslide.”

    LOL! Well I guess if you are apt to believe that Trump will build a wall and have Mexico pay for it this is plausible as well. Hey, why wasn’t this line pasted…

    “The black community in America has been in decline ever since.
    Maybe blacks have finally had enough?”

    What a garbage website that is.

  70. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Juice, no payment plan? 1,000 over the next 20 years, or 500 over 40 years?

    On a serious note, what do you really think is going to happen in 20-30 years when the generations that had their retirement plans tossed in the garbage in the name of profits go into retirement mode? Are we going to have retirees refusing to retire because they have no means (Florida is screwed banking on retirees) ? Are we going to have taxes raised to help support a generation of retirees with no retirement plan? What’s the answer here? Are we going to be laying off or firing workers in their 70’s because you can find a younger worker or a robot to do it cheaper, and be left with a bunch of 70 year olds going door to door begging for charity to survive?

    You can’t take away retirement plans and not put anything in its’ place to support these people. So what’s your answer? And yes it’s going to cost money.

    Juice Box says:
    June 9, 2016 at 3:40 pm
    re # re: “they are struggling.”

    BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    Cut your check then your share is $20k to the state pension fund.

  71. Essex says:

    69. It’s now Hillary’s to lose.

  72. Amerigeddon says:

    Let the pensioners eat Friskies. Or eat their cabbage-and-Rheingold stinking crapshacks.

    BOOOOYAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

  73. Juice Box says:

    re #72 – Someone once told me that Trump was calling around local midsize banks for a $100 million loan and then two days later filed for bankruptcy. Not sure who got stiffed but some bank surely did, bankruptcy is a legal strategy and Trump did not invent it.

  74. Juice Box says:

    re # 73 – Perhaps it is out of her hands? I wonder how the O administration is going to keep the FBI from going to Congress and the press and leaking once the DOJ decides like Holder did in 2012 to withhold the information until after the election. Just lookup the Petraeus deal for the slap misdemeanor for lying to federal investigators and 300 classified document leaks, DOJ withheld info and only came forward when they were caught.

    http://www.weeklystandard.com/wh-denies-endorsement-will-intimidate-fbi-investigators/article/2002757#.V1nZrVeHEh9.twitter

  75. Juice Box says:

    re # 71 Pumps – “On a serious note, what do you really think is going to happen”

    One of my teachers said our generation would not do as well as the last, and we would be pushing down a pillow over the heads of our elderly and infirm as they sleep at night.

    I have a feeling he was off by a generation.

  76. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Lol yup.

    This has to be one of the biggest threats to society that nobody is talking about. What are you going to do with a generation of elderly, living longer than any generation before them, with no retirement plan? Talk about a disaster. It wouldn’t be a problem if we were still living off the land, growing our own food. But when you are in the advance stages of a capitalist economic system in which the means of production are in the hands of a few, this retirement situation is Armageddon. It’s going to get UGLYYYY!

    Juice Box says:
    June 9, 2016 at 6:52 pm
    re # 71 Pumps – “On a serious note, what do you really think is going to happen”

    One of my teachers said our generation would not do as well as the last, and we would be pushing down a pillow over the heads of our elderly and infirm as they sleep at night.

    I have a feeling he was off by a generation.

  77. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Beautifully said. Those 5 issues are what matter to me. All my friends too. Basically, we are sick of taking it on the chin when we are the most powerful country in the world. We want a President that will defend Americans on these issues as opposed to selling us out for corporate issues. Let’s make America great again by working for our interests, not the interests of corporations. You know, the corporations that are hell bent on selling America’s future out for a QUICK BUCK. Enough is enough. Time to take a stand.

    Tywin says:
    June 9, 2016 at 4:24 pm
    Trump U has a 98% approval rating, including rave reviews (posted at the below link) from the people who filed the lawsuit against Trump:

    http://www.98percentapproval.com

    The “mainstream” media no longer control the narrative, and cannot damage trump with their lame faux “outrages” every few days, because people don’t care about those side issues — instead they care about:

    1) Securing our borders.

    2) Fixing our trade agreements.

    3) Stopping the flow of factories and jobs to other countries.

    4) Stopping the relentless importing of foreign nationals into the country to replace American workers (both blue collar and white collar).

    5) Stop caving to every whim and faux outrage put forward by the “mainstream” media, which has created two political parties that were indistinguishable from each other (see: Paul Ryan, et al).

  78. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Anyone notice that Trump was never considered a racist till he started running for president? Tells you all you need to know.

  79. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

    Hollywood type tells People that police officer who arrested her girlpal after she got physical with her was “misogynistic” and “homophobic”

    Curious considering the arresting officer was female and gay

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/amber-heards-2009-arresting-officer-201607208.html?nhp=1

    The liberal reflex: call your opponent a racist/sexist/insert term here. And it’s so reflexive, they don’t look first.

  80. Hi there! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog. Is it tough to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty quick. I’m thinking about setting up my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any points or suggestions? With thanks

  81. grim says:

    Trump is like a rich Archie Bunker

  82. McDullard says:

    #80… Do you remember when Trump got roasted in 2011 after he claimed that he had investigators that had evidence that Obama was not born in Hawaii? He ran for presidency in 2000 (reform party), withdrew from race in 2011 (after getting his butt kicked by Obama), and also has floated the idea of running for president in 1988 and 2004.

    Whether he is a racist or not is not the issue (most people are, anyway, in one way or another). It is a question of how far he is willing to exploit race as a wedge factor to win — and he has shown no indication of any line that he won’t cross.

    Asking the judge to recuse himself simply because of his ancestry is ridiculous, especially when most of the country ridicules even a suggestion of bias in the justice system against poor minorities. But no big deal. He will keep doing this till he starts dropping in polls badly, then will double down, and then take down some GOP congressmen with him.

  83. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

    [83] grim

    I say a rich Ron Burgundy.

  84. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Right on que with today’s discussion on retirement.

    “For the past two years, a commission made up of 19 high-profile people from the academic, political, business, and investment worlds has been busy devising a bipartisan plan to strengthen the retirement security and personal savings of Americans. The result, a comprehensive 146-page report from the Bipartisan Policy Center packed with ideas, came out today.

    A lot of high earners are going to hate it.

    One of the report’s many proposals would raise the taxable level of Social Security earnings to $195,000 from the current $118,500 by 2020, part of a broader plan to “renew the promise of a comfortable retirement, across the income spectrum, for current and future generations of Americans.”

    The report also includes revamps of everything from 401(k) plans to reverse mortgages to tax credits that encourage savings. And it recommends that any company with at least 50 employees that doesn’t offer a retirement plan meeting certain standards have to enroll workers in a new type of savings plan proposed in the report or in an enhanced
    myRA that myRA the report envisions.

    “Growing inequality has made retirement increasingly available to only a few. We need a federal plan that serves everyone,” one of the commission members, author and New School economist Teresa Ghilarducci, said in a statement. “With 27 states actively pursuing retirement reform, these leaders have made it clear that the political will for change exists.”

    The report addresses an urgent need. Nearly half of respondents in the Federal Reserve’s 2014 household survey said they wouldn’t even be able to cover a $400 financial emergency without selling something or borrowing money, never mind saving for retirement. Employer defined-benefit retirement programs have largely been replaced by defined-contribution plans such as 401(k)s that employees have to finance and manage mostly by themselves, and only half of private-sector workers with access to these plans use them.

    That makes Social Security the main source of retirement income for many older Americans. And as anyone who has given retirement a passing thought knows, the program has big challenges.

    If the BPC report’s recommended policies are enacted, “retirement savings for middle-class Americans would be increased by about 50 percent by 2065″ and old-age poverty reduced by one-third from today’s levels, the commission’s co-chairman, Kent Conrad, a former Democratic U.S. senator from North Dakota, said in a press briefing.

    Here are some of the proposals that would affect high-income workers.”

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-09/high-earners-are-going-to-hate-these-retirement-proposals

  85. The Great Pumpkin says:

    86- Juice, check out this article. Yup, going to raise taxes on us to pay for the removal of retirement plans….shocker! No wonder the media doesn’t really focus on this issue, they already plan on raising taxes on high earners to pay for it. So basically the corporate elite pushed the cost of workers retirement on high earning professionals. YOU FUC!ERS!! Nothing more than SNAKES! It’s nothing personal, right? Just business. Man, I wish the professional class that carries this country could do something about it. Forced to pay for the top and bottom.

  86. D-FENS says:

    Maybe you find an Obama advisor more credible.

    http://www.inquisitr.com/3063827/get-ready-for-president-donald-trump-says-obama-advisor-van-jones-video/

    Pete says:
    June 9, 2016 at 4:58 pm
    “A new poll by Big Data and posted at FOX Latina found Donald Trump has 26% support from African Americans.”

    Yeesh, check the source on those numbers. And to extrapolate that in to “Trump on Track to Win More Black Votes Than Any GOP Candidate Since 1960″ is either ignorance or a weak attempt at propaganda.

    “If Trump skims 25% of black voters from the Democratic Party he would win the 2016 election in a landslide.”

    LOL! Well I guess if you are apt to believe that Trump will build a wall and have Mexico pay for it this is plausible as well. Hey, why wasn’t this line pasted…

    “The black community in America has been in decline ever since.
    Maybe blacks have finally had enough?”

    What a garbage website that is.

  87. D-FENS says:

    I have to say…I found something interesting when looking for that article. It was almost impossible to find when using Google. I remember reading it…but no matter what, I could not find any articles relating to Van Jones’s comments. I was completely bombarded with articles critical of Donald Trump when looking for it on google.

    I used an alternative search engine and it was the first hit.

  88. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

    [87] pumps

    You’re just figuring that out now? Hell, compression on the HENRYs is the reason so many of us on this board have been angry for years.

  89. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

    [89] DFENS

    Google has been quite cozy with the admin for awhile now. It’s been well reported and criticized by some in media. I recall stories on either CNBC or Bloomberg about it (poss Fox Biz but that’s a small sliver of my morning XM listening).

  90. D-FENS says:

    91 – I didn’t really want to believe it…but having witnessed it first hand several times now…it’s undeniable.

  91. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

    [88] DFENS

    Pete may be a bootlicking, useful idiot for the left but he isn’t wrong. Trump will get pasted. And the Jones piece exists because of dem complacency, not because he’s actually worried about President Trump.

    You’ve got better odds of seeing Manziel leading Detroit to a Super Bowl title in 2017 than seeing President Trump

  92. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Wow, what are we living in China? Our search engines are now corrupt and manipulated. Unreal.

    D-FENS says:
    June 10, 2016 at 8:07 am
    I have to say…I found something interesting when looking for that article. It was almost impossible to find when using Google. I remember reading it…but no matter what, I could not find any articles relating to Van Jones’s comments. I was completely bombarded with articles critical of Donald Trump when looking for it on google.

    I used an alternative search engine and it was the first hit.

  93. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

    [92] DFENS

    It isn’t just google. Content providers scrub too. I recall quite clearly a dem senate caucus presser in 2000 where senators said Bush’s election was illegitimate and they would obstruct him. Later, when I tried to find it, zilch, zip, nada.

    Another time I heard Potok of SPLC define hate groups as “any group that doesn’t believe in what we believe in”. I heard it live and was “whoa”. But MSNBC took down the video and put up a transcript. Naturally that line is missing.

  94. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Yes, looks like I’m carrying the henrys torch for my generation. Lucky me. So wrong how they take advantage of the most productive class (prob the only productive class) in the system.

    Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:
    June 10, 2016 at 8:08 am
    [87] pumps

    You’re just figuring that out now? Hell, compression on the HENRYs is the reason so many of us on this board have been angry for years.

  95. Amerigeddon says:

    If I put a bounty on punkin’s head, what’s the appropriate amount to offer?

  96. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

    Obamacare has been such a huge success that the obamunists now want to outlaw critical care insurance in order to force people into Obamacare.

    http://www.benefitspro.com/2016/06/09/federal-regulators-may-try-to-kill-critical-illnes?eNL=5759e57c160ba0e825f21167&utm_source=BPro_Daily&utm_medium=EMC-Email_editorial&utm_campaign=06102016

    You just can’t make this stuff up.

  97. D-FENS says:

    Yeah people keep saying that…but somehow he won the nomination. I’m not so sure anybody can make a prediction right now with any certainty.

    “You’ve got better odds of seeing Manziel leading Detroit to a Super Bowl title in 2017 than seeing President Trump”

  98. LOL

    “We are losing the fight over whether our courts will remain a neutral forum,”

    Is that really what liberals are fighting for? I don’t think I’ve ever read anything so completely disingenuous.

    http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/top-democrats-team-pummel-disgrace-donald-trump-n589461

  99. Amerigeddon says:

    Meh. The election has simply shaken out to become the same old choice between two sociopathic shitheads.

    Same as it ever was.

  100. [99]D-FENS – I completely agree. I don’t think it is even possible to poll effectively as the hate on the left is turned up to 11. Why would anyone voting for Trump, particularly in a blue state, get in any conversation, much less a poll. Anecdotally, my observation is that there is little to no conversation in social settings about politics right now. I have good friend who always votes Dem (and he knows I lean right) and when we had lunch back in March, we discussed the presidential race. When we had lunch two weeks ago, it never came up in conversation. On Memorial Day we had brunch at a friend’s house with 3 other couples that we know very well. Again, the presidential race never came up.

    Yeah people keep saying that…but somehow he won the nomination. I’m not so sure anybody can make a prediction right now with any certainty.

    “You’ve got better odds of seeing Manziel leading Detroit to a Super Bowl title in 2017 than seeing President Trump”

  101. Comrade Nom Deplume, the anon-tidote says:

    [99] DFENS

    When this election is over, the folks at 598, Gallup, etc., will crunch numbers and prove conclusively that which I’ve suspected: That Trump owes his wins to massive strategic voting by democrats to set him up for Hillary.

    Add in news coverage by sympathetic outlets to arrange the same result and you have the perfect storm. The GOP got blindsided and in the future, you will see rules in place to keep marginal candidates from plumping up a 17 person field.

  102. Comrade Nom Deplume, the anon-tidote says:

    Everybody into the Pool!!!!

    https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2016-Fact-sheets-items/2016-06-08.html

    Basically, short term and critical health insurance policies are keeping people from joining Obamacare. So they will be eliminated.

    And you thought that Obamacare wasn’t a forced march into single payer? Silly muppet.

  103. Kissinger said the same thing to me last night.

    Meh. The election has simply shaken out to become the same old choice between two sociopathic shitheads.

    Same as it ever was.

  104. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Great breakdown on this retirement issue.

    “There are a few reasons why we’ve seen companies move away from defined benefit pensions to defined contribution plans and Neil touched on the biggest of them. With a traditional pension plan, the company carries the investment risk. During periods of stock growth, the company can contribute little. But when markets decline (as they have recently), significant additional contributions are required – and those contributions come directly off the corporate bottom line. Above all else, Wall Street values consistent and predictable profit growth in companies and the growing volatility of investments subject corporate earnings to uncontrollable market conditions. Pension plans also face the risk of an aging population. The average 65 year old retiree in 1960 might have been expected to live to 75. Today’s 65 year old retire might be expected to live to be 85. Those extra years of pension income means the retirement cost of that employee just went up. With medical science continuing to advance, how long might the retirement of today’s 20 year old be?

    By moving away from defined benefits to defined contributions, all of those risks to corporate profits go away. They no longer have to worry about market performance. They no longer worry about longevity and how long the money has to last. They just have to make a nice predictable contribution to 401K Accounts and they are done with no future risk. Of course, the issue with that is that it is us – the workers – who then take on those risks. We now bear the risk of market returns. We are now the ones who have to worry about living longer and running out of money. More than anything else, the move from defined contributions to defined benefits is a transfer of those risks from the company to the workers.

    Perhaps the worst part about transferring risk from the company to the individual is that you lose the ability to pool and protect against those risks. Someone retiring today will have to start drawing on a 401K balance at the worst possible time. They are selling stocks at their low point. Someone who spends the first few years of retirement when the market is at its peak is in a much better position and is far less likely to deplete his retirement accounts. But when you pool market risk (as in a pension fund), all of that is averaged out. You also pool longevity risk. The person who survives to age 110 doesn’t have to worry about outliving their individual savings. Pooling of risk is the foundation of the insurance industry and it worked well with certain elements of retirements as well. But individual defined contribution accounts remove that pooling and leaves each individuals with more total risk than the company had as a whole.

    All that said, pensions were never perfect. For one, they are not owned by the individuals, but rather are an asset of the company and therefore can be raided by the company. 401Ks, as assets of the individual account holders, are more secure in that regard. And pensions gained most of their value in the last few years of a career, so they wouldn’t provide much security to someone who moves between jobs.

    Though probably the largest reason, the transfer of risk isn’t the only reason why pensions are disappearing. To a large extent, we have done it to ourselves by fixating on salary numbers and the salary number is bigger when you receive the extra money and then have to pay it into a 401K than when a pension is funded “behind the scenes”. If we had demanded a pension instead of a chasing after the biggest salary, it would have been harder for companies to abandon pensions. But we not only made it easy for them, we probably helped force them to do this to us.

    The real question will be what happens when a large wave of retirees emerge with limited savings and no pensions? Will the government be willing to let a huge number of vocal (voting) retirees live on social security benefits alone? Or will it be those of us still in the workforce who will be asked to pay “our fair share” to support those who saved nothing? In the end, did the risk really go to those individuals or will it end up on the back of tax payers?”

  105. I think the shortest route to government overhaul would be to have every single conservative just not vote in November. Hand every single election over to the Dems and then stand back and watch what they can do with no scapegoat. Two years just start sweeping them all out. Of course it would take some time and a couple SCOTUS accidents to right the ship.

  106. D-FENS says:

    (103) –

    I don’t know Nom…sounds kind of tinfoil hat to me.

  107. HouseWhineWine says:

    102 ) Funny, I am finding the complete opposite. Even at work, the Trump v. Clinton debate is getting fiery. Acquaintances I run into around town are even discussing it, fitting the subject into short, “Hi, how are you”? bits as we run into each other doing errands! Strong feelings, both ways. Either VERY anti-Trump or VERY anti- Clinton and there seems to be no middle ground in the opinions.

  108. HouseWhineWine says:

    As for the pension issue, I think it’s unreasonable to ask seniors to keep working, working, past a certain age. Sure, people are living longer, but that doesn’t mean they are functioning anywhere near 100%. I work in healthcare, and trust me, a lot of people have a lot of health issues, and you wouldn’t know it for looking at them. Complain all you want about the lazy millenials, but I think they are getting a raw deal. Both my adult children are millenials, have professional jobs with great companies. No pension, and not even that great of a 401k. And they aren’t really complaining about it, since that’s what all their peers are dealing with as well.

  109. Tywin says:

    Trump was right, again. That Mexican judge giving him a hard time was born to two illegals, not “Americans” as the NY Times and the media claim.

    http://gotnews.com/ay-carumba-death-certificate-papa-judgecuriel-proves-new-york-times-lying-u-s-citizenship/

    Observe closely how the “mainstream” media circle the wagons to assist their political allies (democrats), such as the Associated Press and NBC News claiming this week, the day before the California primary election, that “Hillary is the Nominee.” Who needs elections, just let the AP decide who should run things.

  110. Amerigeddon says:

    expat (102)-

    I don’t talk politics outside my house ever. I just keep accumulating shiny and .223.

    Wake me up when it’s time to start shooting.

    “On Memorial Day we had brunch at a friend’s house with 3 other couples that we know very well. Again, the presidential race never came up.”

  111. Amerigeddon says:

    expat (105)-

    Can you arrange an entree for me into the war criminal set?

    “Kissinger said the same thing to me last night.”

  112. Pete says:

    “Maybe you find an Obama advisor more credible.”

    No, I don’t, kind of my whole point. Instead of just cherry picking one person’s view or an insufficient poll to extrapolate is silly. I mean the poll you cited has Clinton and Trump basically tied with Latinos. Does that pass the sniff test to you?

    Also, I’m not denying the possibility that Trump wins, its way too early to make that prediction and is easily possible. Probably 2 to 1 in favor of Clinton right now. I’m saying that winning 25% of the black vote is ludicrous.

  113. Amerigeddon says:

    whine (110)-

    I’ve found a fine middle ground…hating them both.

    Jill Stein looking like a reasonable candidate, compared to these two loons. I’ll either vote for her or spend Election Day making fruity drinks.

    “Either VERY anti-Trump or VERY anti- Clinton and there seems to be no middle ground in the opinions.”

  114. Captain Nom Deplume, Besotted Rummy says:

    [108] DFENS

    Ordinarily, yes, this sort of thing isn’t organized and doesn’t work especially well, and never on a large scale.

    But social media sites have advocated doing this, something that gained traction in 2000 with Bush. Since there is no organized base, one has to look for data evidence of a trend. So consider the following:

    1. Trump did well in “open” primaries where dems could come over and vote. And why not since Sanders early on did not seem to be a serious candidate. No one even remembers the other guy.

    2. Not many states with closed primaries released voter registration stats showing crossovers but two states come to mind that did:

    Mass. showed 20,000 crossing over from dem to GOP.
    PA showed 250,000 crossing over from dem to GOP

    These are big numbers. No way these were all Reagan Dems leaving the dem party. If they were going to leave, they would have done so before now.

    I think that on the latter side, once the general numbers are in, the effect of strategic voting can be more or less quantified. Not with precision, that’s impossible.

    ++++++++++++

    Consider also that the reason it could work had to do with the size of the GOP field and the availability of open primaries early. Had the field been much smaller or closed primaries dominated the early polling, strategic voting would have been far harder and the wind would have come out of those sails early. But with those wins in Iowa and NH, aided by strategic votes, the media put a LOT of wind in Trump’s sails, which simply enabled him to steamroll the field. And as that momentum picked up, strategic voters in other states came out because there was a chance.

    Now, if Hillary wins 52-48, I say that proves me wrong. But if she wins by double digits, then I’ll wait to see what the polling outfits tell us. They crunch numbers better than I can.

  115. Pete says:

    I have to say…I found something interesting when looking for that article. It was almost impossible to find when using Google. I remember reading it…but no matter what, I could not find any articles relating to Van Jones’s comments. I was completely bombarded with articles critical of Donald Trump when looking for it on google.

    I just googled van jones obama trump and got ten consecutive results on that article. Maybe people just dont know how to use google?

  116. Amerigeddon says:

    Blacks have a way of always voting against their own self-interests. Trump and his crew are clever enough to dangle some shiny object in front of them and at least get their attention, if not their votes. Trump and his minions are also masters of pitting narrow interests and minorities against each other.

    Put nothing past Trump, and don’t underestimate him. He did not stumble into the position he’s in now. His campaign has been calculated in extremis.

  117. Captain Nom Deplume, Besotted Rummy says:

    [115] pete

    I have to agree. I think that Clinton will match Obama’s percentage with black voters and carry 90%.

  118. No One says:

    Amerigeddon,
    A girl will slay the chosen one for a bag of gold.
    A girl will put a powder on his keyboard, so that when he types nonsensical BS next time, he will froth, then bleed from his mouth, and then forever stop posting his nonsense.
    The offering to the Many-Faced-God may be left at the front door of Big Daddy’s Dogs in Little Falls.

  119. Captain Nom Deplume, Besotted Rummy says:

    [119] clot

    “His campaign has been calculated in extremis.”

    I think you give him waaaaaaay too much credit.

  120. Amerigeddon says:

    Speaking of shiny, I heard from BC Bob today.

  121. Captain Nom Deplume, Besotted Rummy says:

    [121] no one

    Don’t know who you are but you make more sense than the Twitiot.

  122. Amerigeddon says:

    plume (122)-

    The day-to-day, rambling, ad hoc, off-the-cuff “Trump being Trump” is the improv part of the show. The backstage work, though, has been prodigious.

    It takes a keen, cynical and nimble mind to completely plug in to the nihilistic, irrational zeitgeist of end-of-the-empire white trashdom.

  123. Captain Nom Deplume, Besotted Rummy says:

    I was hoping I’d be playing golf in Colt’s Neck today. Instead, I’m ripping service contracts and scheduling my older Boston for surgery. Today’s gonna suck.

    Damn, I need coffee. And later, scotch.

    Peace out, y’all.

  124. Amerigeddon says:

    no one (121)-

    Cyanide? Yeah, baby!

  125. Captain Nom Deplume, Besotted Rummy says:

    [125] clot

    “It takes a keen, cynical and nimble mind to completely plug in to the nihilistic, irrational zeitgeist of end-of-the-empire white trashdom.”

    I believe that this version of keen, cynical and nimble mind is discussed in DSM-V.

    (sorry, could not resist ;-))

  126. best loan says:

    This site is amazing. I will recommend it to my friends and anybody that could be interested in this subject. Great work guys!

  127. joyce says:

    Funny. I said the exact same thing to myself yesterday. When the libertarian party picked Gary Johnson… I said Jill Stein or not voting. (probably not voting)

    Amerigeddon says:
    June 10, 2016 at 10:00 am
    whine (110)-

    I’ve found a fine middle ground…hating them both.

    Jill Stein looking like a reasonable candidate, compared to these two loons. I’ll either vote for her or spend Election Day making fruity drinks.

    “Either VERY anti-Trump or VERY anti- Clinton and there seems to be no middle ground in the opinions.”

  128. [117] Nom – If we believe the newspaper, the 180,000 new “R” voters in PA work out like this:

    At least 128,000 voters statewide have changed their registration since Jan. 1 to join the party. Nearly 85,000 of them had been Democrats; 42,000 were independents or third-party voters. The GOP has also racked up 55,468 more first-time registrants.

    http://articles.philly.com/2016-03-30/news/71903218_1_pennsylvania-voters-party-registrations-john-kasich

  129. Here is some anecdotal MA voter information:

    I’ve always been a registered Democrat. By the time I figured out the difference I already lived in Boston, so I just leave it alone in case I ever want to join the corruption train or ever need a favor from one of the conductors. My wife, OTOH, has always been an independent, but somehow a few years ago they just swept her into the GOP without asking. She hasn’t changed that either.

  130. D-FENS says:

    I wish Bernie Sanders had some balls and would endorse the Green Party candidate.

  131. Juice Box says:

    re #133 – They aren’t registered for Ballot access in all states only 21.

    Without ballot access nobody can win but a Dem or a Republican.

    https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_access_for_major_and_minor_party_candidates

  132. Even in the Boston “old boys” network, career pols are getting tossed in favor of first timers with no political experience. Take a look at the faces of our new city council:

    http://www.cityofboston.gov/citycouncil/

    Two of those women are first time office holders and successfully ousted looooong time city councilors:

    http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/herald_bulldog/2015/11/newcomers_campbell_essaibi_george_win_council_seats

    The city council gets to vote on the mayor’s salary every year. Do you know how much city councilors earn? Half the salary of the mayor. They get to vote for their own raises.

  133. [135] Correction, every 4 years:

    City Councillors are currently paid an annual salary of $87,500. The salary for councillors is half of the mayor’s salary. Every four years, the Council votes on whether or not to raise the mayor’s salary, thereby also raising its own salary or not.

  134. chicagofinance says:

    You need to watch more House Of Cards……

    D-FENS says:
    June 10, 2016 at 8:13 am
    91 – I didn’t really want to believe it…but having witnessed it first hand several times now…it’s undeniable.

  135. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Agree 100%. There will be a coming crisis with the lack of retirement plans. Doesn’t take Einstein to figure that one out.

    HouseWhineWine says:
    June 10, 2016 at 9:46 am
    As for the pension issue, I think it’s unreasonable to ask seniors to keep working, working, past a certain age. Sure, people are living longer, but that doesn’t mean they are functioning anywhere near 100%. I work in healthcare, and trust me, a lot of people have a lot of health issues, and you wouldn’t know it for looking at them. Complain all you want about the lazy millenials, but I think they are getting a raw deal. Both my adult children are millenials, have professional jobs with great companies. No pension, and not even that great of a 401k. And they aren’t really complaining about it, since that’s what all their peers are dealing with as well.

  136. Captain Nom Deplume, Besotted Rummy says:

    Back briefly with Breaking News:

    Gordie Howe, gone at 88. One of the lions from my youth, even if he did play for the Wings.

  137. chicagofinance says:

    Pensions destroy companies……the most extreme example is what the UAW did to the Michigan base auto companies when they had to compete with Japan and Korea. There is no easy answer, but essentially the workers did a bait-and-switch with their employers…..they implicitly agreed to die in their 70’s and instead decided to live to more than 85. They expected their employers to foot the bill…..why exactly?

    In this country the environment has created the expectation that your employer will offer health care benefits and retirement benefits. It is just something that developed over time because companies offered it to be competitive in the marketplace for workers…….there is no ethical mandate that it be required…….

    HouseWhineWine says:
    June 10, 2016 at 9:46 am

    As for the pension issue, I think it’s unreasonable to ask seniors to keep working, working, past a certain age. Sure, people are living longer, but that doesn’t mean they are functioning anywhere near 100%. I work in healthcare, and trust me, a lot of people have a lot of health issues, and you wouldn’t know it for looking at them. Complain all you want about the lazy millenials, but I think they are getting a raw deal. Both my adult children are millenials, have professional jobs with great companies. No pension, and not even that great of a 401k. And they aren’t really complaining about it, since that’s what all their peers are dealing with as well.

  138. The Great Pumpkin says:

    140- I was just thinking about the retirement issue. When people bring up ignorant statements like they should be responsible for their own retirement, they are totally missing the point. If everyone was able to be responsible for their own retirement, wouldn’t everyone be considered rich? It’s not realistic at all to expect the majority of people to be rich, so how in the world do you expect the majority to be responsible for their own retirement? That would mean that these individuals are able to save and invest a million or more by retirement. You expect the majority of the population to be able to do this on their own? That’s the definition of insanity. What is every single person going to be passing down a huge lump sum from their investments to their kids?

    Chi, do you really expect the population to be able to save and invest for their retirement? Why do you have a job? People are financially illiterate and expecting them to learn is a utopia.

  139. The Great Pumpkin says:

    141- You are a financial adviser and you expect people to financially prepare for their retirement on their own?

  140. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Pensions destroy companies is no different than saying companies destroy society by shipping jobs overseas, or using the slack in the labor market to artificially increase profits on the back of the workers. It must be nice to know that there are not enough jobs and you can continuously play worker against worker in the plot to steal their productive value.

  141. Joyce says:

    If someone has specialized skills that are in demand, we should prohibit them from shopping their services around to multiple employers … they should remain where they are always.

  142. chicagofinance says:

    Who said anyone needs to be rich? People have a lifestyle afforded by their assets and income…..they make an informed decision to stop working when they feel as if they live on their saved assets for the rest of their life without working……the rest of everything else is details……..where does being rich enter into this discussion?

    The Great Pumpkin says:
    June 10, 2016 at 12:09 pm
    140- I was just thinking about the retirement issue. When people bring up ignorant statements like they should be responsible for their own retirement, they are totally missing the point. If everyone was able to be responsible for their own retirement, wouldn’t everyone be considered rich? It’s not realistic at all to expect the majority of people to be rich, so how in the world do you expect the majority to be responsible for their own retirement? That would mean that these individuals are able to save and invest a million or more by retirement. You expect the majority of the population to be able to do this on their own? That’s the definition of insanity. What is every single person going to be passing down a huge lump sum from their investments to their kids?

    Chi, do you really expect the population to be able to save and invest for their retirement? Why do you have a job? People are financially illiterate and expecting them to learn is a utopia.

  143. chicagofinance says:

    they live = they can live

  144. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Definition of a millionaire is 1 million net worth or more. So how exactly do you expect the majority of the population to build up that kind of net worth to retire on?

    chicagofinance says:
    June 10, 2016 at 12:20 pm
    Who said anyone needs to be rich? People have a lifestyle afforded by their assets and income…..they make an informed decision to stop working when they feel as if they live on their saved assets for the rest of their life without working……the rest of everything else is details……..where does being rich enter into this discussion?

  145. chicagofinance says:

    Why does the typical U.S. citizen across the country need $1M to retire? Because some reporter on a news website said so? Also, what is the NPV of your Social Security and Medicare benefits……probably a damn sure lot more that a simpleton might believe…….

  146. The Great Pumpkin says:

    148- They will never have the self control, nor the financial intelligence to get there. Expecting the population to do it on its’ own is a pipe dream.

  147. Essex says:

    i’ve been rich and i’ve been poor….

  148. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Yesterday, I asked why is the media not talking about this? That this is a major threat to society? Not even 24 hrs later, most mainstream media start discussing the issue.

    Juice Box says:
    June 10, 2016 at 12:27 pm
    pumps headline.

    http://www.marketwatch.com/

    http://www.marketwatch.com/story/all-us-employers-should-pay-for-retirement-plans-for-their-workers-2016-06-10

  149. Essex says:

    …and rich is better. -Mae West

  150. The Great Pumpkin says:

    153- Wow this is exactly what I said yesterday. I love how the creator of the 401k believes in hindsight that he created a monster.

    “I’m not in favor of the nanny state. I am also not in favor of tens of millions of Americans not being able to maintain a decent standard of living in retirement — for want of a 401(k) or similar plan at work.

    But that’s what’s likely to happen in the U.S. if we don’t solve what experts refer to as “the coverage problem” — the problem that some 40% to 50% of workers, an estimated 57 million Americans — don’t have access to any retirement-savings plan at work.

    For the record: The fact that so many working Americans don’t have access to a retirement plan at work was identified by a speaker at a recent conference I attended as the biggest problem facing the retirement industry today, bigger than the issues addressed by the Labor Department’s recent conflict-of-interest rule. Read: Obama administration targets financial advisers better at enriching themselves than clients.

    So, given the coverage problem, the future is easy to see: Millions of Americans who currently have no or little savings will someday retire on Social Security alone if we don’t take action now.

    And if we don’t take action, trust me, it will be a disaster for all Americans — rich, poor, and middle-class alike.

    What sort of action? Call me crazy (or whatever you want in the comment section below) but we need to follow in the footsteps of other developed and civilized countries.

    We need to put in place laws — as the U.K. did in 2008 — that require almost all employers to provide their workers access to, and maybe even fund, a retirement plan, such as a 401(k).

    To be fair, 401(k) plans aren’t perfect. Read: The inventor of the 401(k) says he created a monster. And, to be more fair, plenty of people aren’t saving nearly enough even when they have access to a 401(k) plan. Read the Government Accountability Office’s report, Retirement Security: Low Defined Contribution Savings May Pose Challenges.

    But something is much better than nothing.”

  151. Ben says:

    Agree 100%. There will be a coming crisis with the lack of retirement plans. Doesn’t take Einstein to figure that one out.

    Retirement plans? I have a pension that I’m forced to participate with that is going to give me zero dollars when I go to retire. I’d be more content to buy $500 worth of dividend stocks every month with the money I’m putting in. It’s not rocket science and never has been.

  152. The Great Pumpkin says:

    This is a disaster. Even the people with plans, don’t really have a plan.

    Ben says:
    June 10, 2016 at 1:07 pm
    Agree 100%. There will be a coming crisis with the lack of retirement plans. Doesn’t take Einstein to figure that one out.

    Retirement plans? I have a pension that I’m forced to participate with that is going to give me zero dollars when I go to retire. I’d be more content to buy $500 worth of dividend stocks every month with the money I’m putting in. It’s not rocket science and never has been.

  153. Amerigeddon says:

    Somebody, please retire Punkin. With a bullet.

  154. joyce says:

    Thanks, Webster.

    The Great Pumpkin says:
    June 10, 2016 at 12:43 pm
    Definition of a millionaire is 1 million net worth or more.

  155. joyce says:

    Just let the Idiot continue to have conversation with himself.

  156. Fast Eddie says:

    Definition of a millionaire is 1 million net worth or more. So how exactly do you expect the majority of the population to build up that kind of net worth to retire on?

    Invest in stocks.

  157. Fast Eddie says:

    Corporations will find a way to make money until the end of time and at the expense of humans. You’ll never be able to change that fact no matter how many revolutions occur. So, if you can’t beat them, join them. Invest in stocks.

  158. Amerigeddon says:

    I, for one, would love to see Joe 6 forced to play the stock market. I’ll finally be able to realize my lifelong dream of shorting stupid.

  159. chicagofinance says:
  160. walking bye says:

    Pumkin it’s not a crisis but a return to normalcy. Getting old was never supposed to be fun. All these old timers with their s3x (Viag), drugs (medicare) and rock n roll. Why should they have all the fun ? Before the silent generation many elderly just died penniless in the streets if their children did not take them in.

    http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/1987/11/cj7n2-15.pdf

  161. Amerigeddon says:

    Damn straight. We should do what the Eskimos do- float ’em out to sea on a chunk of ice.

  162. The Great Pumpkin says:

    You can’t make this comparison. Much different times.

    1. People are living a lot longer. (you want them begging in the streets to survive every you go)
    2. Back then one income supported a family, now two incomes don’t even support a family. How in the hell are they going to take care of their elderly parents if they can barely take care of themselves?
    3. The means of production was not so concentrated back then. Try finding an odd job to make a little cash in this economy? Not happening. Everything is already done by fewer and fewer hands. Go ask a teenager how impossible it is to find a job these days.
    4. Health care costs are astronomical today. How are you going to take care of the elderly if they don’t have a retirement plan? Just bankrupt families that have to take care of their parents?
    5. Do you know how much demand you will take out of the economy by forcing the elderly to live on almost nothing? It will destroy the economy (esp florida’s and the south in general).

    I can go on and on, why this is a serious issue that can’t be taken lightly.

    walking bye says:
    June 10, 2016 at 2:14 pm
    Pumkin it’s not a crisis but a return to normalcy. Getting old was never supposed to be fun. All these old timers with their s3x (Viag), drugs (medicare) and rock n roll. Why should they have all the fun ? Before the silent generation many elderly just died penniless in the streets if their children did not take them in.

    http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/1987/11/cj7n2-15.pdf

  163. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Why should they live on nothing, when there is more than enough resources to go around? That’s how you know the economy is broken; when there is more than enough food to go around, but you have people starving because they don’t have access to capital.

  164. [89]D-FENS – Google is definitely screwing with us re: Hillary/Trump. I’ve taken to using duckduckgo.com exclusively for political searching.

    I have to say…I found something interesting when looking for that article. It was almost impossible to find when using Google. I remember reading it…but no matter what, I could not find any articles relating to Van Jones’s comments. I was completely bombarded with articles critical of Donald Trump when looking for it on google.

    I used an alternative search engine and it was the first hit.

  165. Essex says:

    162. ‘some’ corporations….most will not…

  166. [94] China is the beta test lab for controlling the world’s masses.

    Wow, what are we living in China? Our search engines are now corrupt and manipulated. Unreal.

  167. NJ Rant says:

    #168 – punkin, they run out of money don’t they go on Medicaid for healthcare?

    Kids are a privilege, not a right. They cost money. Your kids are your responsibility, not mine.

    Retirement – if people made a list of every expenditure and highlighted the non-essentials they would be blown away by how much they waste. Investment plan: 2-4 index funds dollar share averaged (2-4 buys per year) should do it. ChiFi probably has a better one but this one would be fine for most.

    84 month car loans, financing for just about everything else, cloths one does not need, iPhones one does not need, $6 cups of coffee one does not need, expensive dinners out one does not need, milk has nutritional value, soda does not, plant your own garden, forget netflix, can one survive without 1000 tv channels, buy some insulation from the building supply house and get a tax credit and lower heating and AC bill, used honda accord with 50k miles (properly maintained should run 150K plus tires from tire rack) and the list goes on and on and on and on and on. Look up christian health plans. Flat fee of around $250 per month. You pay first 10k plus you live by their moral code – you drink and drive and crash, no coverage, no seatbelt, no coverage out of wedlock birth no coverage. Yes, I still repair my own cloths with a needle and thread and no, I do not own $200 jeans.

  168. chicagofinance says:

    Latest Sports News (clot Edition):

    MARSEILLE, France — Police fired tear gas at rowdy fans at Marseille’s Old Port for the second straight day on Friday.

    The outburst of violence came despite a heavy police presence a day before England is to play Russia at the European Championship in the Mediterranean port city’s Stade Velodrome.

    There were no immediate reports of injuries.

    When the tear gas cleared, hundreds of England fans remained in the area, singing and waving English flags as riot police stood nearby, watching closely.

    When a car with flashing police lights drove by at one point in the evening, a fan threw a beer bottle at the vehicle.

    Police later ran into the crowd and grabbed a man in a red England shirt, handcuffing him and leading him away.

    Earlier Friday, cleaners hosed down sidewalks and swept up broken glass left over from Thursday’s incidents.

  169. chicagofinance says:

    I think people don’t appreciate how much choice they have. They act as if society dictates to them how they should spend their money and time. They are completely out of touch with what really makes them happy. They are never allowed to move backward, or smaller, or more sensible…….everything is always more, bigger, newer…..NEXT!

    The biggest fck ups are housing and cars……also children, including adult children…..

    NJ Rant says:
    June 10, 2016 at 3:41 pm
    #168 – punkin, they run out of money don’t they go on Medicaid for healthcare?

    Kids are a privilege, not a right. They cost money. Your kids are your responsibility, not mine.

    Retirement – if people made a list of every expenditure and highlighted the non-essentials they would be blown away by how much they waste. Investment plan: 2-4 index funds dollar share averaged (2-4 buys per year) should do it. ChiFi probably has a better one but this one would be fine for most.

    84 month car loans, financing for just about everything else, cloths one does not need, iPhones one does not need, $6 cups of coffee one does not need, expensive dinners out one does not need, milk has nutritional value, soda does not, plant your own garden, forget netflix, can one survive without 1000 tv channels, buy some insulation from the building supply house and get a tax credit and lower heating and AC bill, used honda accord with 50k miles (properly maintained should run 150K plus tires from tire rack) and the list goes on and on and on and on and on. Look up christian health plans. Flat fee of around $250 per month. You pay first 10k plus you live by their moral code – you drink and drive and crash, no coverage, no seatbelt, no coverage out of wedlock birth no coverage. Yes, I still repair my own cloths with a needle and thread and no, I do not own $200 jeans.

  170. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I totally understand what you are saying, but can not agree with it. You are basically advocating for the destruction of our capitalist based economic system. That stuff you think is not needed serves a purpose by creating jobs based on consumer wants. If everyone starts living like you advocate, the economy will crash rather quickly due to no demand. It will go into a deflationary spiral so strong, nothing will be spared.

    The stuff you speak of as needless are a part of our economy and a part of people’s lives today. It’s a complicated system.

    You do understand that there are enough resources to go around for everyone, right? The problem is that with the elimination of jobs (as a percentage of the population) in the name of hyper efficiency, you take away the means for consumers to demand the resources that they need.

    Meaning, plain and simple, a job in a capitalist economic system is nothing more than an avenue for the individual to participate in the economy by demanding resources. Take away the job and the individual can no longer participate in the economy. Since they can no longer participate in the economy, the economy can not grow, it must constrict. Now you can understand why extreme saving and income concentration are horrible things for a capitalist economic system.

    NJ Rant says:
    June 10, 2016 at 3:41 pm
    #168 – punkin, they run out of money don’t they go on Medicaid for healthcare?

    Kids are a privilege, not a right. They cost money. Your kids are your responsibility, not mine.

    Retirement – if people made a list of every expenditure and highlighted the non-essentials they would be blown away by how much they waste. Investment plan: 2-4 index funds dollar share averaged (2-4 buys per year) should do it. ChiFi probably has a better one but this one would be fine for most.

    84 month car loans, financing for just about everything else, cloths one does not need, iPhones one does not need, $6 cups of coffee one does not need, expensive dinners out one does not need, milk has nutritional value, soda does not, plant your own garden, forget netflix, can one survive without 1000 tv channels, buy some insulation from the building supply house and get a tax credit and lower heating and AC bill, used honda accord with 50k miles (properly maintained should run 150K plus tires from tire rack) and the list goes on and on and on and on and on. Look up christian health plans. Flat fee of around $250 per month. You pay first 10k plus you live by their moral code – you drink and drive and crash, no coverage, no seatbelt, no coverage out of wedlock birth no coverage. Yes, I still repair my own cloths with a needle and thread and no, I do not own $200 jeans.

  171. jcer says:

    169, Pumpkin as most on this site would attest to capitalism seeks to use free markets to optimize production, supply, and demand. The unfortunate side effect of this is that there must be winners and losers, and the economy is somewhat volatile. If you want to see what the problem is, it is ZIRP and the blowing asset bubble, if you want to fix income inequality we must fix zirp, people in the US think debt is the way forward and thus artificially low rates are a way to afford a lifestyle they cannot afford on salary. The reality is the avg schmuck and we don’t really have an avg schmucks on this site, borrows money to buy depreciating crap(iPhones, $200 jeans, new cars, craptastic homes, etc) while the wealthy are using it as a vehicle to acquire assets of production, commodities, real estate(land not buildings which depreciate) utilizing money at far lower interest rate(avg. schmuck borrows at 6-18%, the extremely wealthy at 1-4%). Meanwhile the average schmuck must pay for a home that has inflated in value, must pay for insurance that is fundamentally broken partially a result of zirp, and must pay taxes to a government that is broke because they cannot meet pension targets(partially due to incompetence but also a result of zirp). So basically they are squeezed between a tight labor market due to globalization and automation, and zirp causing certain significant costs to rise. I don’t have to be that prick Picketty to understand that the biggest cause of inequality is the global phenomenon of zero interest and bank bailouts.

  172. The Great Pumpkin says:

    What do you expect when the model is based on infinite growth? Blame the investors for demanding endless growth. Blame capitalism. In their quest for higher and higher profits, they go into overdrive marketing the stuff you claim people don’t need. So advocate for that simple life and you will be out of a job before you know it. No need for financial advisors in an economy based on bare necessities.

    chicagofinance says:
    June 10, 2016 at 4:12 pm
    I think people don’t appreciate how much choice they have. They act as if society dictates to them how they should spend their money and time. They are completely out of touch with what really makes them happy. They are never allowed to move backward, or smaller, or more sensible…….everything is always more, bigger, newer…..NEXT!

    The biggest fck ups are housing and cars……also children, including adult children…..

  173. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Really good post. Think you hit the nail on the head.

    They lowered rates to spur consumer spending. They just forgot about one part, that only works when you have jobs, not just jobs, but good middle class jobs (my post #177 explains why). Like you allude to, lower rates were used by people like you and me, who bought assets with the free money, driving the price up even more on these poor souls. We didn’t use the money to spur demand in the economy, just used it to strengthen the price of assets. So no job creation or economic growth came from the spending of that low rate money. It was all invested in assets.

    jcer says:
    June 10, 2016 at 4:22 pm
    169, Pumpkin as most on this site would attest to capitalism seeks to use free markets to optimize production, supply, and demand. The unfortunate side effect of this is that there must be winners and losers, and the economy is somewhat volatile. If you want to see what the problem is, it is ZIRP and the blowing asset bubble, if you want to fix income inequality we must fix zirp, people in the US think debt is the way forward and thus artificially low rates are a way to afford a lifestyle they cannot afford on salary. The reality is the avg schmuck and we don’t really have an avg schmucks on this site, borrows money to buy depreciating crap(iPhones, $200 jeans, new cars, craptastic homes, etc) while the wealthy are using it as a vehicle to acquire assets of production, commodities, real estate(land not buildings which depreciate) utilizing money at far lower interest rate(avg. schmuck borrows at 6-18%, the extremely wealthy at 1-4%). Meanwhile the average schmuck must pay for a home that has inflated in value, must pay for insurance that is fundamentally broken partially a result of zirp, and must pay taxes to a government that is broke because they cannot meet pension targets(partially due to incompetence but also a result of zirp). So basically they are squeezed between a tight labor market due to globalization and automation, and zirp causing certain significant costs to rise. I don’t have to be that prick Picketty to understand that the biggest cause of inequality is the global phenomenon of zero interest and bank bailouts.

  174. The Great Pumpkin says:

    180- That’s exactly why there has not been inflation yet with the expansion of the monetary supply. The money never reached the masses. You didn’t have a bunch of capital chasing goods. You had it chasing assets. The money just shored up all asset classes.

  175. Essex says:

    This thread just gave me Zika…

  176. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

Comments are closed.