From the APP:
N.J. job losses hit 228,300; worst since ’90s
New Jersey’s economy lost 114,100 jobs in 2009 and another 9,100 jobs in January 2010, the state reported Wednesday, offering evidence that the recession has been the most severe since the early 1990s.
It has forced thousands of workers to reinvent themselves, brush up on their skills and prepare for new careers — even as they fall behind on their bills and try to keep their families together.
“Every bill is at least a month late,” Laura Novotny, 45, of Long Branch, said Wednesday after leaving a class at Brookdale Community College in Middletown, where she is studying respiratory therapy. “If somebody stole my identity, they would give it back to me.”
The latest report from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development was notable in that it included a full account of the labor market last year.
It found the state lost 228,300 jobs from the time the U.S. recession began in December 2007 through 2009, fast approaching the 258,600 jobs lost during the recession from 1989 to 1992. It also said the state’s unemployment rate in January dipped to 9.9 percent from 10 percent, even though the job losses continued.
…
“As bad as (we thought) the recession was, the final numbers indicate that it was worse,” Rutgers University economist Joseph J. Seneca said. “The long road back to recover the lost jobs of the recession is even longer than what we originally thought.”
…
The Labor Department’s report showed the private sector lost 121,100 jobs in 2009; the public sector added 7,000 jobs. In the private sector, only the education and health services sector and the leisure and hospitality sector added jobs.The biggest losses: Trade, transportation and utilities lost 29,000 jobs; professional and business services lost 28,700 jobs; manufacturing lost 28,200 jobs; and construction lost 23,400 jobs.
Unemployed workers have been jobless on average for seven months, the longest stretch since researchers began tracking that figure in 1948. And it has worn them down, said Carl Van Horn, director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/nj_gov_chris_christie_to_annou.html
The thrill of the kill
TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie Thursday will create a commission to privatize as many as 2,000 state jobs beginning next January, officials said tonight.
As he grapples with an $11 billion deficit in the budget he will present on Tuesday, Christie is also considering invoking the Disaster Control Act to suspend Civil Service rules to make it easier for him to lay off higher paid workers, according to two administration officials.
From MarketWatch:
February foreclosures up 6% vs. 2009, off 2% vs. January
Foreclosure filings in the U.S. rose 6% from a year earlier and fell 2% from January 2010, RealtyTrac reported on Thursday.
These filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — affected more than 308,500 U.S. properties in February. That’s 1 of every 418 U.S. housing units, the Irvine, Calif., consulting firm reported.
The 6% rise from February 2009 was the smallest year-over-year increase since January 2006, when RealtyTrac began calculating this figure, Chief Executive James J. Saccacio said in a statement. But “it still marked the 50th consecutive month of year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity.”
From the Record:
Jersey City officer accused of lying to bank to get mortgage, FBI says
The FBI arrested a Jersey City police officer Wednesday on charges that he lied to a bank in order to score a $530,000 mortgage for a second home, federal authorities said.
Brian Ragauckas, 36, of Secaucus, claimed he was a first-time home buyer when he signed for a mortgage with Countrywide Bank in March 2008 to buy a multiple-family house in Jersey City, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office news release.
Ragauckas did not disclose to a Countrywide official the outstanding mortgage on his Secaucus home and said he rented the property rather than owned it, the release states. Ragauckas had taken out a 30-year mortgage for $513,700 on the Secaucus property in March 2008.
He said he had not had an ownership interest in any property in the last three years and repeated all of the claims on a Uniform Residential Loan Application, which he signed, according to the release.
Ragauckas admitted to the FBI that he intentionally left his Secaucus property off the mortgage application because he thought he wouldn’t qualify for the loan if he listed it, according to the release.
Ragauckas appeared for a hearing in federal court in Newark and U.S. District Magistrate Judge Mark Falk released him on $200,000 bail and ordered him not to gamble.
From the Star Ledger:
N.J. unemployment rate falls to 9.9 percent in January
New Jersey’s unemployment rate in January fell slightly to 9.9 percent, dipping back below the 10 percent mark but still slightly higher than the national rate of 9.7 percent, the state labor department said today.
At the same time, the state lost 9,700 private sector jobs while adding 600 jobs in the public sector. There were 4.5 million civilian jobs in New Jersey in January, including 3.2 million private sector jobs and 652,000 public sector jobs, the department said.
The state also released its annual revision of the previous year’s statistics, which showed that 2009 was worse than originally thought.
“The recession was so severe that both the nation and New Jersey lost jobs faster that they could be counted,” said Joseph Seneca, a professor of economics and public policy at Rutgers University.
In 2009, the state lost 114,100 jobs, or 2.9 percent off of payrolls, revised from the previously reported figure of 90,100. Nationwide, the country lost 4.8 million jobs, or 3.6 percent, during the year.
The revised numbers say the December unemployment rate in New Jersey was a dismal 10 percent, instead of 10.1 percent.
Job losses slowed throughout the year. The state lost an average of 14,400 jobs per month in the first half of the year, while losing 4,600 jobs in the second half of the year.
Kansas City board OKs plan to close nearly half of schools
The superintendent calls it the “Right-Size” plan,” but many Kansas City, Missouri, residents say it’s plain wrong.
Superintendent John Covington called for the closing or consolidation of almost half of the city’s public schools. A divided Kansas City school board voted Wednesday to approve the downsizing.
A packed room of people watched the board make its historic move after weeks of debate and years of declining enrollment. Some parents voiced their anger, while some students cried.
“I have an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old that will be going to school with 12th graders. I find that very inappropriate. I don’t feel my children will be safe,” Deneicia Williams told CNN affiliate KSHB-TV.
“I feel like I have nothing, I have no high school legacy. I feel like I have nothing, nothing to go back to,” said Prince Jones, a senior, who will be part of the final graduating class at Westport High School.
Covington proposed the “Right-Size” plan arguing that the financial future of the entire school district was at stake. The plan shutters 28 of Kansas City’s 61 public schools, cuts 700 jobs and saves $50 million to help reduce a burgeoning deficit.
http://m.cnn.com/primary/_lJypVk-iqeibM95YR9
Re#4
10.1% 10.0% 9.9% RECOVERY IS HERE!!!
God bless Obama.
Everything is gonna be fine.
Gary better get your house!!
StarLedger blog
After this housing reform, we’ll still be headed south
so what is the gov. to do. The NJ state workers will not buck under to chris.
signed contracts are signed contracts.
screw the taxpayers, pay up.
after all we have the best schools , cops,
fire, and the garden state.
and close to NYC.
Bill would require state workers to live in NJ
“If you want a paycheck from New Jersey taxpayers, you should live here and pay your taxes here,” said Norcross, D-Brooklawn. “It is blatantly unfair for our public employees to collect their salaries and benefits from the taxpayers of New Jersey while paying taxes to another state. This practice must stop.”
Turn everything inside of 287 over to the US Navy.
“. He may want to replace Liberty and Prosperty ( the two women on the flag) with Lizzy Borden and Molly Hatchet.”
Then we can replace the state song with flirt’n with disaster.
reposting from late last night …
hughesrep says:
March 9, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Someone was looking for an SUV lease last week. Yikes maybe? Honda has their low end Pilot on a lease for $299 / month right now with good credit.
I ended up with an EX-L, I shouldn’t take the wife car shopping.
is that with any money down? I’d rather not put any money down. im having trouble finding really good deals. i had no clue cars were this expensive (sold a car in 2003, lived in NYC for 5 yrs, then got 2 hand-me-downs on the cheap just to get from point A to point B – work from home)
Get a load of this name, it is the British Transport Minister and it has to be tough to live up to:
Lord Adonis.
3b, Skeptic
The charts on NJ housing trends that i promised:
http://www.scribd.com/full/28183885?access_key=key-2gltvqkjzufrd4lsrzg7
Shore 13
Sweet name!!!!
gator (5)-
Better get ready for the same thing here. I can see a whole slew of twp. consolidations and forced shared services, too.
Brave new world, folks. Pare down, or die.
serenity (6)-
Gubmint’s 9.9% = Actual 21%
Re NJ state employee cuts.
Its an interesting question, state layoffs. Given that 30+% of the state is employeed by the state, state employee layoffs are goig to jack up unemployment while increasing the costs of social programs.
It would seem that the trick is to target layoffs to maximize expedtiure/liability reductions reltive to the resulting increase in social safety net outlays as a result of the same layoff.
The first thought in my mind is to to high level high income individuals first. Its probably more effective to thin the herd from the top down, as the top level earners are probably making 2-3X what the low level employee’s are making
Gubmint will pay for somebody to buy a house.
Gubmint will pay for somebody to stay in a house.
Gubmint will pay a bank to blow out a junior lien and accept a short sale.
Gubmint will pay a borrower to short sell his house.
This is Madoff stuff. Anyone who uses the word “recovery” in relation to this is either an idiot or a paid mouthpiece and not to be trusted.
Welcome to oblivion, folks.
Ponzi circle jerk.
Clot,
you want to know the real unemployment #’s? take U3, the commonly reported unemployment # and multiply by 2.5
hyde (21)-
I’ll buy that. I’ve got former pharma upper managers talking to me about what it takes to be RE agent. When that’s happening, I gotta think UE’s headed toward 25%.
These guys are also no dopes. Selling RE is probably the best shot they have at replacing a significant amount of their incomes.
Even El-Erian feels oblivion’s beckoning:
“We have now reached a point when a Senator has to write a well-intentioned letter to the very administration he serves, (whose sworn duty is to preserve the wealth of all of its constituents, not just Goldman Sachs), with a cautionary tale that continued lying to the general population combined with a culture of opacity and persistent fraud, will lead to a disastrous effect to the economy and to the very fabric of American society. Alas, in a society in which those being lied to extract a satisfaction as great, if not greater, from this process, than those doing the actual lying, this is not too surprising. Sticking our collective heads in the sand has traditionally worked miracles for resolving the bulk of this nation’s problems. And with the public sector now demonstrating a preferential treatment for the financial space, at the expense of 99% of the remaining population, it has become obvious US citizens can no longer rely on the US government for procuring the truth. Furthermore, with China now a vassal owner of America via its undisputed creditor status, we may soon lose the protection the government is entrusted with affording its citizens in other realms, from enemies certainly domestic (mostly located in south Manhattan), and very possibly foreign. Yet, another voice of caution that has recently emerged, and whose message is critical to all, is that of Pimco’s Mohamed El-Erian. The Pimco executive has written another very relevant Op-Ed in the Financial Times, “How to handle the sovereign debt explosion” which does not so much disclose new things, as capture the essence of the groundbreaking transformation that is currently occurring within the entire “developed” world, and more specifically, the denial that the vast majority of “experts” are exhibiting when faced with a previously unseen process of unprecedented significance.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/pimcos-el-erian-inability-grasp-seismic-changes-currently-occurring-developed-world
“Yes- we should be getting this warning from the Federal Reserve, and from those who hope to become the Fed’s new members – a position which once upon a time was considered an admirable accomplishment yet now puts you roughly in line with the lepers, hookers, wifebeaters and prison rats in the social hierarchy. We should but we don’t – all we get from this government is silence. Instead we get a daily barrage from government bought cheerleaders who preach that all is well, and that precisely the warnings of El-Erian and so many others are to be ignored. And the crowning glory of how far our society has fallen is that the vast majority among us chose to believe these lies, and gladly hand over money to buy another share of Lehman brothers which is in liquidation yet still trades.
And somehow Bernie Madoff is in jail for doing just what the government does to us every single day.”
Guys, sorry didn’t respond as quickly as I should.
Will work for beer: May be if the hop is Amarillo (very fruity, citrus)
Nom: Ah. . yes. Crazy bosses who can do no wrong. . . Welcome to the desert of the real.
Too tired to proofread.
Doom
For even more fun, consider that about 40% of the US population works in the private sector, the rest are publicly employed and/or on some level of government assistance.
Given that any government job is funded by taxing private sector employment, we now have about 40% of the population supporting the other 60%!
#18 Hyde,
If 30% of workers are gubermint employees,, that would explain why 27% of US adults have zero retirement savings. If you are going to get a gov pension and health ins for life, why bother saving a dime?
Doom,
from the UK:
In an effort to keep its shopping area looking prosperous, North Tyneside council has begun to replace some of the 140 empty shops within its jurisdiction with fictional businesses. The businesses consist of nothing more than colorful images of shop interiors.
How long before we see that here?
Hyde,
It’s amazing how many car dealerships have closed in the last few years.
Ket:
Absolutely fantastic research and charts. It does go a long way to explaining the recent rise in sales and prices over the recent couple of months.
I don’t think anyone mentioned extending the homebuyers credit to move up purchasers as a possible reason for the recent pop. If the $3,500 could convince people driving + $30,000 SUVs to trade them in to purchase $25,000 sedans, then $6,500 might have influenced a few fence-sitters into trading in their old homes for larger ones.
I think most of us here (besides Frank and Jamil) can think for ourselves, but the wider society fall more into the other camp. Did you all run out and buy your Keurig 60 cents per cup coffee makers yet?
So there is no definitive answer to Skep’s question on the recent price increase. I, like so many others here, will wait until the stimulus is removed for greater clarity. Either way, the financial upside-downside risk of waiting until July for the clarity appears to favor waiting in my opinion. If prices do gain a little by then, they should drop back down that little bit as the Q4, Q1 seasonal cycle of lower prices occurs later in the Fall and Winter.
For what it’s worth, I think many of us predicted an increase in sales (and perhaps slight increase in prices) up through April this year.
Perhaps GMAC can open a call center in NJ to
relieve the job situation. However, we will
have to provide English lessons.
Stu
Thank you
What i see as the scariest stat is that that the median home price was up 150% in 8 yrs and is still up over 100% from 99 prices.
In inflation adjusted terms we were up 07 median home prices were up 100% from 99 and are still up 55% from 99 prices.
If historical annual home price appreciation is 2-3% then we should be at about 30%over 99 prices in inflation adjusted terms. But the catch in that figure is that it also assumes incomes increase with inflation. They have not. Inflation adjusted household income is currently the same as it was in 1999.
This means that even if we were to settle at that 30% mark, market dynamics means we will under shoot that level before leveling out at it. However the income levels do not support that. If we factor income the lack of income we should settle at about 99 or lower home prices in inflation adjusted terms. Once again if that is the point we settle at, its also likely we overshoot to the downside for a brief period.
stu (30)-
A couple months’ worth of nominal (and possibly, fabricated) housing gains pale in comparison to the imminent collapse of Amerikan society.
Doom 33
if i had to guess, what we are currently seeing in NJ RE trends is similar to what i might expect to see in technical analysis before falling off a cliff.
FD(33):
“pale in comparison to the imminent collapse of Amerikan society.”
That is permanently lodged in the back of my mind.
#14 Ket/Mr. Hyde: Excellent. very impressive. Thank you so much. The graphs say it all!!
Another use for Mcmansions in NJ.
“Largest Ever NJ Indoor Marijuana Growing Bust”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35798829
Serious question:
Anyone know which states, preferably on either coast, have the best ratio of public sector compensation (current) to GDP and the best ratio of unfunded public sector obligations to GDP?
Good CNBC show on now with Forbes and various State finance directors.
“N.J. job losses hit 228,300; worst since ’90s”
Want a job?? Move to Mexico, their unemployment rate is 5.3%.
Why do you stay in NJ if you don’t have a job??
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-25/brazil-colombia-mexico-latin-america-bond-currency-preview.html
3b
http://tinyurl.com/yjqkagn
At your service :)
Hoboken market on fire. 20 UC this week.
http://hudson.fnismls.com/publink/default.aspx?GUID=3f9fae1c-9665-4fe8-a359-013380b660f9&Report=Yes
Move to Mexico, where the rich people live.
World’s Richest Man Carlos Slim: Who Is He?
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/worlds-richest-man-carlos-slim/story?id=10067743
Carlos Slim
Looking at is photo i wonder if he’s a rapper in his free time? He certainly isnt “slim”
Re: CNBC with State finance offiicals
CA advisor to Schwarzenegger takes any change to current public sector benefits off the table. Claims they are contractually protected and even in the case of general default by the state they are senior so would be paid in full. (Good negotiating tactics, can you represent me next time I buy something?)
He says savings must be found in other current programs and from new joiners to the public system.
Offers as an example in the HHS budget that CA spends $6B on 60,000 corrrections employees. Bloating here by his calculations has pushed corrections to 11% of HHS spending from 3%, with emplyee comp representing 80% of total corrections spending. Also notes that the $6B spent on 60,000 people is more than what is spent in the CA university system that educates 670,000 people.
How did we ever get here?
Seriously, next time I pass someone with a firefighter license plate on the Parkway instead of smiling pleasantly and nodding to them I’m going to run the m’fer off the road.
AIG and Citi knocking the ball out of park every day in March pretty much. Now damm GMAC is roaring back to life. Sick Stuff. Maybe a housing bubby around the corner. I have a cousin who makes 80K a year with and unemployed husband buying a 900k house in a few weeks as they feel it is the bottom in housing and they want to get in on their dream home. Is it just me or is that 10x income!!!!!!
Holy carry trade, home equities at 3% GMAC bonds paying 10% and the govt backing both sides of deal, looks like unemployed people are going to earn free money till this bubble blows up.
“A year or two ago GMAC was in the epicenter of all that was wrong,” said Thomas Ferguson, an analyst at KDP Investment Advisors in Montpelier, Vermont. “This says something positive about the market, about GMAC itself, and about the perception of a relative improvement in confidence relative to where we were six months or a year ago.”
The U.S. government held a 56.3 percent stake in GMAC as of Dec. 31, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The government’s role as GMAC’s biggest stakeholder gives investors confidence that it won’t shirk its obligations under the bonds, said Sean Egan, president of Egan- Jones Ratings Co. in Haverford, Pennsylvania.
“It’s a propitious time to borrow,” Egan said. “At the same time, the federal government is up to its neck in its involvement with GMAC and its reason for being there is going to remain, even if the company gets into some difficulty.”
Tax, maxed
“Taxpayers are equivalents of shareholders, and everyone involved in government — elected officials, union leaders and workers — must understand that the times have changed.”
— Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr.
Joe D. has issued a position paper noting that public workers cannot expect the nonstop wage-and-benefit increases received during the past quarter-century.
Even as public employees’ salaries and benefits have significantly expanded, tax money in Montclair, Essex County and New Jersey has withered. Many corporations are defunct or have departed. Many smaller businesses throughout our state, including in our town, struggle daily to avoid bankruptcy.
Citing public workers, DiVincenzo stated:
“They are the recipients of benefits created during a different era. But unless we all work together to modify the system, everyone will feel more pain. Governmental revenues are falling and money from federal and state coffers are shrinking; there is just not enough money to provide government services in the manner we formerly did, and the public sector wage and benefit packages must be adjusted to meet the new economy. We have no choice.”
Can anybody provide an “adjustment” alternative, whether at the county, or local, or state levels of government?
Five Montclair Board of Education members have requested that the Montclair Education Association reopen its multi-year contract in the hope of averting the layoff of at least 60 employees of the Montclair School District.
The MEA’s position: There are other ways of raising the money needed to pay for MEA members’ salary increases, pension increases, taxpayer-subsidized health insurance and more than a dozen paid holidays. The MEA’s contract is similar to pacts achieved by the unions representing workers in Montclair’s municipal government.
It’s imperative that the local union(s) provide rational revenue-raising alternatives to avoid layoffs of their own members.
“In an effort to maintain the best services for our residents, and minimize the tax burdens, I ask all Essex County municipal officials to vigorously examine shared-service agreements and some form of administrative regionalization. I also call on public employees at all levels, and their union leadership, to come to the table willing to negotiate within the parameters of today’s economy.”
The county executive’s requests are sensible for the leaders of Essex County’s 22 municipalities to emulate — and, in emulating, to merge many functions.
Most New Jersey taxpayers are rapidly reaching maxed-out levels. Many residents are beyond their fiscal and psychological limits to endure nonstop tax hikes.
While public-employee unions expect raise upon raise, and benefit upon benefit, and early retirements, many folks in private-sector jobs fear — or experience — layoffs, salary freezes, diminished benefits, and no pensions when they retire at age 65 or later.
Many Montclairites are laid off, have had their salaries frozen, have lost (or have never been offered) pensions, and/or pay substantially more for their healthcare benefits than do any public workers in town.
One cost-reduction alternative for New Jersey municipalities is privatization.
By incessantly getting higher salaries and preserving generous benefits, even in the midst of our nation’s terrible economic downturn, New Jersey’s public-sector unions might be leading many of their members over the privatizing precipice to unemployment.
Soon or sooner, concerns about revenue to pay for employees’ ever-increasing salaries and benefits will impel many cash-strapped municipalities to seriously examine private-sector alternatives for many of the functions now handled by municipal, school district, county and state governments.
What is the alternative?
“Taxpayers are equivalents of shareholders, and everyone involved in government — elected officials, union leaders and workers — must understand that the times have changed.”
— Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr.
Joe D. has issued a position paper noting that public workers cannot expect the nonstop wage-and-benefit increases received during the past quarter-century.
Even as public employees’ salaries and benefits have significantly expanded, tax money in Montclair, Essex County and New Jersey has withered. Many corporations are defunct or have departed. Many smaller businesses throughout our state, including in our town, struggle daily to avoid bankruptcy.
Citing public workers, DiVincenzo stated:
“They are the recipients of benefits created during a different era. But unless we all work together to modify the system, everyone will feel more pain. Governmental revenues are falling and money from federal and state coffers are shrinking; there is just not enough money to provide government services in the manner we formerly did, and the public sector wage and benefit packages must be adjusted to meet the new economy. We have no choice.”
Can anybody provide an “adjustment” alternative, whether at the county, or local, or state levels of government?
Five Montclair Board of Education members have requested that the Montclair Education Association reopen its multi-year contract in the hope of averting the layoff of at least 60 employees of the Montclair School District.
The MEA’s position: There are other ways of raising the money needed to pay for MEA members’ salary increases, pension increases, taxpayer-subsidized health insurance and more than a dozen paid holidays. The MEA’s contract is similar to pacts achieved by the unions representing workers in Montclair’s municipal government.
It’s imperative that the local union(s) provide rational revenue-raising alternatives to avoid layoffs of their own members.
“In an effort to maintain the best services for our residents, and minimize the tax burdens, I ask all Essex County municipal officials to vigorously examine shared-service agreements and some form of administrative regionalization. I also call on public employees at all levels, and their union leadership, to come to the table willing to negotiate within the parameters of today’s economy.”
The county executive’s requests are sensible for the leaders of Essex County’s 22 municipalities to emulate — and, in emulating, to merge many functions.
Most New Jersey taxpayers are rapidly reaching maxed-out levels. Many residents are beyond their fiscal and psychological limits to endure nonstop tax hikes.
While public-employee unions expect raise upon raise, and benefit upon benefit, and early retirements, many folks in private-sector jobs fear — or experience — layoffs, salary freezes, diminished benefits, and no pensions when they retire at age 65 or later.
Many Montclairites are laid off, have had their salaries frozen, have lost (or have never been offered) pensions, and/or pay substantially more for their healthcare benefits than do any public workers in town.
One cost-reduction alternative for New Jersey municipalities is privatization.
By incessantly getting higher salaries and preserving generous benefits, even in the midst of our nation’s terrible economic downturn, New Jersey’s public-sector unions might be leading many of their members over the privatizing precipice to unemployment.
Soon or sooner, concerns about revenue to pay for employees’ ever-increasing salaries and benefits will impel many cash-strapped municipalities to seriously examine private-sector alternatives for many of the functions now handled by municipal, school district, county and state governments.
What is the alternative?
http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/87308922_Tax__maxed.html
leftwing 44
I’m going to start a $hit storm by saying this but to bad.
CA should cut off its social safety net programs being heavily abused by illegal immigrants and their “anchor” kids. The problem is that the non-productive massively outnumber the productive citizens in CA (a large # of illegal immigrants, but to be fair a number of CA citizens fall into this category as well).
Actively enforce immigration and cut off the incentive to game the system.
I am all for regulated immigration but the free for all in the southwest is ridiculous.
Immigration enforcement isnt a silver bullet solution, but its a big step in the right direction
Council wants to re-open union contracts
Taking its lead from the Board of Education, members of the Township Council are urging municipal unions to reopen their recently negotiated contracts and agree to “give back” salary increases slated for 2010 and possibly beyond.
The news comes only weeks after municipal employees received a memo warning of possible layoffs.
Last month, the BOE officially requested the teachers union agree to reopen its contract and not accept slated salary increases. Montclair officials are hopeful its similar request to municipal unions will help stave off a hefty tax increase for 2010.
Mayor Jerry Fried told The Times that the municipality’s expected revenue shortfall – including a possible decrease in state aid – has “hurt the budget,” and the pain will have to be felt across the board.
“We’re going to need everybody to give a little for us to be able to maintain operations, municipal operations, you know, at an acceptable level,” Fried said.
“We get it that, you know, we can’t just raise taxes,” he added. “We can’t just keep going up and up and up.”
Most of Montclair’s municipal unions negotiated new, three-year contracts just last year. All new contracts came with multi-year pay hikes that increase from year to year. The contracts were all approved with near-unanimity by the council.
Though some municipal officials were originally happy with the 1 percent increase awarded to most of these employees for 2009, the two 1.5 percent salary hikes slated for 2010 – not to mention a 3.25 percent hike in 2011 – will be painful, according to 3rd Ward Councilman Nick Lewis.
“We didn’t see the tsunami coming,” Lewis said.
Union officials could not be reached for comment.
Even if the unions agree to give back their salary increases, the municipality may still have to implement layoffs, according to 1st Ward Councilman Rich Munick.
Fourth Ward Councilwoman Renée Baskerville voted against most of the new municipal contracts approved last year. Baskerville told The Times that if council members had not approved the salary increases in 2009, then layoffs might not be on the table.
“It hurts me. We know these people. We know their families,” Baskerville said.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/87306862_Could_we_have_that_back_.html
Gator
“We didn’t see the tsunami coming,” Lewis said.
Shocked i tell you, SHOCKED!!!!
Hyde, 48
You gotta read “Atlas Shrugged” if you haven’t already.
It’s truly emblematic of what is going on there: the productive folks are having the life sucked out of them by the unproductive – to the point of corpse-dom.
I’m almost 3/4 of the way through the book. I’m riveted, saddened, angry and disheartened.
At times I wonder how the hell did she forecast this??? Then it occurs to me that it probably went on during her (Ayn Rand) time but on a less extreme scale.
I picture her smugly assessing today’s society and saying, “see? I told ya so….”
sl
“Most of Montclair’s municipal unions negotiated new, three-year contracts just last year.
“We didn’t see the tsunami coming,” Lewis said.”
Sounds like a typical, highly-competetant public official in NJ.
Hyde 50 – Yup. That Nick Lewis sure is sharp as a tack.
SL
have read about 1/3rd of it but then got busy and never got back to it.
the core issue at hand in all of this:
“The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function.” – Bartlett
On unrelated note:
Just signed a lease. I’m moving to NJ. (Yes, on this one I’m an idiot, but with Christie at least there is some Hope – NYC will soon be taken over by some Hevesi/Sharpton crony and taxes are going through the roof).
Will be easy to escape the state (and country) once the inevitable happens.
Creative tax planning, especially international aspects of it (see Rangel-Dodd rule) should make escape easy.
Hyde, 54
Where is that quote from? I recognize it, but can’t place it… maybe from a calculus course?
sl
This same Nick Lewis is the town council member I ripped in a letter to the Montclair Times.
After you read this, you will understand how he didn’t see this coming.
I’ve been telling the town councils in Montclair it’s been coming for three years.
————————————–
I would like to praise Rich Murnick for his wise decision to
cancel his support for the community center proposal. To lead
effectively, you must be brave enough to change your mind. You should
wear your flip-flopper badge in honor. There is no doubt need for such a
facility, but we are in a financial crisis whose need to resolve is
significantly larger.
The dismissal of the capital finance committee’s report by some councilors at
the meeting on Tuesday was ill-advised. We are
actually ignoring the findings and advice of our town’s chief financial officer and auditor. Prior town councils who presided over a better
economy probably should not have kicked this debt down the road. Please bravely deal with it.
As you might have heard, Governor Christie just called for a 475 million cut in
aid to New Jersey schools. This is going to negatively impact the school budget. If
the BOSE does not force cuts to the school budget, then the municipal budget is
going to have to be hacked drastically.
If you are wondering why I did not mention Nick Lewis, who also removed his
support for the community center project? It is because he simply still does
not get it. At last Tuesday’s council meeting, immediately following the
lengthy community center discussion, Nick suggested that either we should do
the South Park improvement ‘right’ or not do it at all. What was once a $500,000 proposal is now
looking more like another million
dollar capital spend. This is on top of the $500,000 spent
on the police parking lot which he also supported. Nick, have fun telling
those whose jobs you will be terminating that it was necessary to do it
‘right’. I think we would be better off not doing it at all.
#53 one of out BOE members in refering to budget cut backs etc. Stated that “we were doing fine until out of the blue the rug was pulled out from under us.”
Yeah, out of the blue, how could you have possibly seen this coming.Incredible!!
SL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Bartlett
22.
If have friends in Pharma and it aint lookin good.
Jamil 55 Out of the frying pan into the fire.
Hii fiiveee
Borat…where have you been hiding?
Hyde, 59
thanks!
I found This with cool explanations of exponential growth.
sl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-QA2rkpBSY
54 – Barlett series
Did you know about these Kettle?
Cindy 65
yes, its a great series
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-oew-brown10-2010mar10,0,1137240.story
One in eight American children lives in California…
…Linear perception in an exponential world is doomed to repeat cyclic boom/bust growth.
John (45)-
That’s the detonator and timer being set on the next RE explosion that no one could see coming.
I also call BS on your post, because given that profile, no lender in the US would make that loan (unless these two have about $500,000 in the bank).
“I have a cousin who makes 80K a year with and unemployed husband buying a 900k house in a few weeks as they feel it is the bottom in housing and they want to get in on their dream home. Is it just me or is that 10x income!!!!!!”
(46)-
This is akin to saying that getting herpes has nothing but upside potential:
“It’s a propitious time to borrow,” Egan said. “At the same time, the federal government is up to its neck in its involvement with GMAC and its reason for being there is going to remain, even if the company gets into some difficulty.”
We are so fcuking fcuked.
hyde (48)-
Wait ’til Meg Whitman becomes gubnor of that cesspool. I’d expect some serious skullbusting to begin at that point.
van (52)-
More frighteningly, it sounds like Orin Kramer…who’s about to launch the NJ pension system into investments in failed banks.
Anyone who can get out of NJ, should.
My how times have changed. Meg sounds like Pat Buchanan and Lou Dobbs.
“Health-care reform’s ‘back-door’ tax”
O wants to place a medicare tax on high earners unearned income (interest, dividends, rents, etc.) 200k for single 250k for married are high income.
I susepect Nom is going to vote for O since O will be steering a lot of business his way. Talk about unintended consequences.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/10/news/economy/medicare_tax.fortune/index.htm
“The Obama administration says taxing the wealthy on unearned income is only fair because anyone who lives off their dividends and interest should have that money treated as wages too.”
3b (58)-
The really scary realization comes when we figure out that our children are being “educated” by complete morons.
IMO, this issue will still persist once all the money is gone and/or we resolve the budgetary issues.
Gonna be a long walk home.
No BS, Mom who has a few million in bank co-signed.
Final Doom says:
March 11, 2010 at 10:13 am
John (45)-
That’s the detonator and timer being set on the next RE explosion that no one could see coming.
I also call BS on your post, because given that profile, no lender in the US would make that loan (unless these two have about $500,000 in the bank).
“I have a cousin who makes 80K a year with and unemployed husband buying a 900k house in a few weeks as they feel it is the bottom in housing and they want to get in on their dream home. Is it just me or is that 10x income!!!!!!”
Until the southern border is airtight, and unless we com to grips with the fact thatit is necessary to send illegals home (including those who had children born here) and to deny people who entered illegally the ability to apply for an entry visa for X years after we toss them out for violating our immigration laws, there is nothing that can fix CA and other states with a largeillegal population.
Will I feel sad for children whose parents are illegals? No, not really. The parrnts broke the law by breaking into the country and any negatibe consequences on their children belong to the lawbreaking parents; so, leave them here and let a law-abiding American adopt, or take them home with you but GO! We did not ask for you to break into our country and we did not ask you to procreate.
On a related note, we should likely look into how congress has defined a United States Person. A child born in the US to a diplomat from another country does nor become a US citizen, as they are not US Presons. I believe that anyone just passing theougt the US on the way someplace else (say a plane layover) or a person who is here illegally should likewise not be considered USPs, thus denying their offspring citizenship.
The lack of possibility of citizenship should help address the situation.
Spent a little time this AM writing an e-mail to TPTB at my daughter’s alleged “Blue Ribbon” HS, asking them to encourage her (tenured, natch) history teacher to at least pretend he gives a shit…as everyone in his class has figured out he doesn’t.
Typos abound, sorry. Thumb keyboard and traffic light.
Cindy (67)-
Guess what other state ducked out of the “Race for the Top”?
Yup. Don’t need three guesses.
BTW, you are exempt from my screed at #75. I wish we could clone you.
FD you need to read between lines.
What Egan is saying is that it is a good time for GMAC to borrow but also people are buying it as it is a good interest rate considering Uncle Sam is forced to prop GMAC up for an extended period so BK risk is relatively low given interest rate.
I bought GMAC bonds a few months ago when they paid 17% and thought WTF, 17% interest for a bond back by the US Govt is a great deal. Trouble is back then it was just me, now somewhow at 9% John Q. Public has seen the light.
Final Doom says:
March 11, 2010 at 10:15 am
(46)-
This is akin to saying that getting herpes has nothing but upside potential:
“It’s a propitious time to borrow,” Egan said. “At the same time, the federal government is up to its neck in its involvement with GMAC and its reason for being there is going to remain, even if the company gets into some difficulty.”
Clot Whitman & Christie perfect together.
When are you coming north?
#55:
Jamil, don’t do it! I am pretty much stuck in this state (unless I change my bar status in PA). Hate to see another stuck in NJ.
Of course there is always federal work. Maybe nom is on to something. I do have friends that work for, I believe civil righs division of DOJ.
Perhaps.
If my boss is monitoring this: this DOJ talk is purely hypothetical. It is a joke! I enjoy being a wage slave at my firm. I love it here! I am very, very happy at my job!
safe (74)-
The gubmint won’t stop until they’ve turned this country into Cambodia, a la Khmer Rouge.
John (76)-
Then Mom had better keep the KY close at hand. She’s gonna need it.
” asking them to encourage her (tenured, natch) history teacher to at least pretend he gives a shit”
The problem is not so much rhe teacher as it is the administrators. Every poor teacher can be improved or replaced were the administrators willing to document the issues, document progressive corrective actions. The real problem lay squarely at the feet of administrators and boards who do not DEMAND that administrators aggressively identify and correct under-performing teachers and then replace those who do not meet expectations. All it takes is spine (gumption, b@lls).
(77)-
Shore said “airtight”.
Heh, heh…heh, heh (in the voices of Beavis and Butthead).
John (81)-
I do read between the lines. And, what I read there is that GMAC is an insolvent, zombie enterprise that will immediately collapse upon itself when the US gubmint ceases to function and civil unrest begins.
To me, the collapse of the financial system- then, the gubmint- are givens. The only variable is when it all happens.
mike (82)-
We gotta do this. One day soon.
Grim has my e-mail. Maybe he can join us.
“Shore said airtight.
Heh, heh heh, heh”
Clearly, I am missing something here.
Mike-
To me, this is p0rn:
http://www.sussexcountysheriff.org/Foreclosures/Mar%2015.pdf
shore (90)-
Compared to 2G1C, it’s a church social.
“O wants to place a medicare tax on high earners unearned income (interest, dividends, rents, etc.)”
We might as well just implement a flat tax, which funds EVERYTHING — including “entitlements.” I suspect that 25% across the board — no deductions — would cover things. When we make EVERYONE a tax payer, then everyone will have a vested interest in controlling costs.
Home Equity Lending That Fueled Consumer Spending to Recover
March 11 (Bloomberg) — John Hale’s four-bedroom house near Seattle is worth about $2 million and is 90 percent paid for. It still took him nine months to find a bank that would give him a $250,000 home equity line of credit.
Rising home prices and an improving economy will spark a modest rebound this year in U.S. home equity lending, the driver of about 2 percent of consumer spending in the first half of the decade. This time around, lenders and homeowners will be more cautious about converting their equity to cash, muting any boost to the economy after the worst slump since the Great Depression, said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com.
“Home equity borrowing won’t be the economic crutch it was a few years ago,” McBride, based in North Palm Beach, Florida, said in an interview. “This is not an economy in which consumers are going to be able to go nuts.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20603037&sid=aHh4J2rgAp4o
doom
re 2G1C, how exactly does one run a casting call for that genre?
“Compared to 2G1C, its a church social.”
Oy!
I think it was yesterday or the day before — sorry — night shift has f*cked up my circadian rhythm…..
Airtight is some p0rn related term with reference to 3 guys/1 girl… I don’t need to diagram it, do I?
[sigh, secksually frustrated bloggers…gad]
Shore Guy says:
March 11, 2010 at 10:28 am
Until the southern border is airtight,
sl
like I should know…
Final Doom, If i see a foreclosure, can i safely make a bid without walking into a nightmare of a deal that i wished i never saw?
Are there often tax issues and hidden leins and other pit falls? or are they for the most part pretty clean?
Also, should i be working with a foreclusre specialist agent or attorney on these deals? Neither my buying agent or attorney have much experience with short sales or foreclosures.
Sl
we’re not frustrated, we’re just boys…. We still laugh at farts and will always find b00bies a fascinating study in Newtonian physics
sl (97)-
Is the gerbil thing an urban myth, or have you “treated” such a condition?
(just making sure that I bring this thread to its lowest common denominator here)
Still_looking 97:
Still have the nostrils to plug up…
veto (99)-
Getting in over your head on an FK can ruin your life. It’s also easy to do. All the hidden pitfalls you mentioned- plus more- could be lurking.
Only approach these situations with people who know the game and have a track record.
“Airtight is some p0rn related term with reference to 3 guys/1 girl”
I never heard of it. It is not something that has any appeal to moi. I can’t think of any guy (let alone) that I like enough to have been wiling to have shared my good fortune back when I was single and a fortune seeker, as it were.
all (107)-
Then, there’s the separate category of airtight skiing.
I have a cousin who makes 80K a year with and unemployed husband buying a 900k house in a few weeks as they feel it is the bottom in housing and they want to get in on their dream home. Is it just me or is that 10x income!!!!!!
That is complete BS!! No lender is doing those kind of loans.Or is it a 200 year mtg perhaps?
shore (104)-
That is because you are a mature, well-adjusted person.
Bad on you. :)
We are now all acting like frat boys here while waiting for the world to end.
#75 It is scary, and you cannot make this stuff up.
“Then, theres the separate category of airtight skiing.”
I take it this has nothing to do with Lindsey Vonn.
Shore 110
with the stories of what goes on during the olympics between all the athletes, it could have something to do with Ms Vonn
#14
hyde– great charts. any idea why there was that spike in 2003? I will bet when we see 1Q10 numbers there will be a similar spike in the chart
I just looked it up and itreminded me of some of my college teammates. There were a fair number who liked that. I declined the offers to join in, it was not my thing.
Well my friends who escaped bankruptcy by the skin of their teeth last spring, using a short sale, have set their sights on a new home already.
It seems that they are not as comfortable living in moms basement as they originally thought, despite the fact they are not being charged rent!!!
Ket,
At a GTG, we can talk olympics and olympic team members.
Skep
any idea why there was that spike in 2003?
No
Hyde, 100
Well… I was raised by a dad who instilled a very male attitude in me (and no, sorry, not a carpet munch…)
I, too, get in trouble for my crude assessments and for my lack of, shall we say, “sensitivity.”
I still laugh at 2G/1C…. how crack-ho can 2Gs get??
sl
Final, 101
Nope. Haven’t extracted a gerbil yet but rectal bottles (usually go to the OR,) lost tampons, lost condoms, and recently (not my patient!) a lost vibr@tor (rectal. Also to OR.)
Usually it’s stuff stuffed in nostrils, the occasional throat/fish bone, and the rare bug-in-the-ear.
sl
And that my friend is a issue. Never bet against Uncle Sam for too long. The US is the greatest country in the world.
Final Doom says:
March 11, 2010 at 10:40 am
John (81)-
I do read between the lines. And, what I read there is that GMAC is an insolvent, zombie enterprise that will immediately collapse upon itself when the US gubmint ceases to function and civil unrest begins.
To me, the collapse of the financial system- then, the gubmint- are givens. The only variable is when it all happens.
#78 Doom,
While a tenured teacher is virtually impossible to fire, they can have their incremental raises withheld due to poort performance. The local paper will even publish it if a teacher doesn’t get a raise due to poor performance. Plus it causes a fun time at the BOE meetings with the parents who are for the teacher defending him, and the parents who don’t want their kids in the slackards class screaming at the BOE and the teacher’s defenders.
If it ever happens in your district bring a bag of popcorn and a video camera.
Hype,
You’d need a pair of really really small p3nises or the chick’d need a nose like… well…like someone with big nostrils…
eesh. Then again, what about the ears…good gawd, 7 guys, one inundated chick…
sl
“carpet munch”
Read a post, look up yet another term. This is all very enlightening. Often, deeply disturbing. But, enlightening, nevertheless.
#32
“If historical annual home price appreciation is 2-3% then we should be at about 30%over 99 prices in inflation adjusted terms. But the catch in that figure is that it also assumes incomes increase with inflation. They have not. Inflation adjusted household income is currently the same as it was in 1999.
This means that even if we were to settle at that 30% mark, market dynamics means we will under shoot that level before leveling out at it. However the income levels do not support that. If we factor income the lack of income we should settle at about 99 or lower home prices in inflation adjusted terms. Once again if that is the point we settle at, its also likely we overshoot to the downside for a brief period.”
With respect to your analysis, I don’t think you are looking at this with a wide enough lense. Look around the world. Prices are still insane everywhere and in most places with functioning economies, much worse than here. New massive bubbles have already formed again in Asian RE. So if our median house prices have leveled off at 4.5x median income this is relatively cheap in the scheme of things. There is a massive and so far successful effort being made to ensure that prices never go back to their long term historical relationship with income.
Shore you got to get out more buddy.
“While a tenured teacher is virtually impossible to fire”
Only when the board and its administrators are not effective. It takes work but can be done. It all starts with a strong evaluation instrument.
Mike,
If I did, Mrs. Shore would be calling Silda Spitzerfor advice on how to perform a home c@str@tion.
Hype that is what the guy in fronts hand is for, but I guess the airtight girl has to be into asphyxiation.
I gather we are going to explore this air tight thing in depth. No pun intended.
Hey now! That was ALL HYPE who started the excessive “additional” orifice debate, not me!!!!
#123 There is a massive and so far successful effort being made to ensure that prices never go back to their long term historical relationship with income.
That may be, but it willnto work.
As far as cheap real estate lots of it now available in formerly red hot Ireland. Whole housing estates are being auctioned off in one swooop. Even the trendy Temple Bar area in Dublin has seen big, big declines.
I can see it now, a new HBO series: The Orifice.
It can be set in an ED and track what docs remove from various people.
#119 I guess you and I have a different definition of great.
Ket I guess there are worse things to talk about on a dreary Thursday. By the way great work on the charts.You should join Clot & me for hinterland tour. Not that you haven’t been on it already. But it’s always fun!
Skep,
I am looking at it with a wider lense then most people. I am looking at this in terms of 100+ year trends.
Maybe at a GTG we can discuss it sometime
3b 132 As long as they don’t take away John’s punch bowl all is fine.
mike 133
would love to
Ket you under contract working during weekdays?
Regarding yesterdays discussion about the pending COMEX collapse.
On January 28, 2000 the Reginald Howe and GATA Lawsuit was filed which accused certain U.S. bullion banks of illegally dumping U.S. Treasury gold on the market. The lawsuit named Deutsche bank Alex Brown, the U.S. Treasury, Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve, and Citibank, Chase, as defendants. Gerald Corrigan was accused of having private knowledge of the scheme.43 Krongard became the Executive Director of the CIA, essentially the Chief Operating Officer, and the number three man on March 16, 2001. Krongard, while at the CIA, arranged for Blackwater’s Erik Prince to get his first contract with the U.S. government, and later joined its board.
Collateral Damage: U.S. Covert Operations and the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001 by E.P. Heidner, p. 28
#77 –
Two years ago, I would have said you are cold and without a heart. Now, I am thinking you might be right but to implement what you have stated will cause bloodshed – literally.
mike
yes
Without it the bloodshed will be double.
And on that note, I must go fire someone. Happy blogging all.
This is a great post, I stumbled across your post while looking for free mp3s. Thanks for sharing, I’ll be sure to return regularly.
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77 Shore inner racist finally unleashed. Probably tea bagger too. Shore did not have any problems of (Dem) President using constitutional authority for wiping out japanese cities without any military purpose (to paraphrase honorable Tom Hanks) because “they were different”. But don’t you dare to suggest to Shore that President has constitutional authority to raid villages in wartime! Now let’s kick out those dirty mexicans because they are different, yeah shore.
“Until the southern border is airtight, and unless we com to grips with the fact thatit is necessary to send illegals home …
Will I feel sad for children whose parents are illegals? No, not really”
(yeah, I’m having a little fun with Shore’s embarrassing constitutional authority & history knowledge – maybe this helps you not embarrassing yourself in public in the future..)
#135 True. And to think he just to be a Bronx boy;it breaks my heart.
Jamil…is this you?
http://www.cs.wayne.edu/~jamil/Images/Hasan1.jpg
144.
Get ready for your national id cards to solve the immigration problem.
Once again. Every problem is solved with a further erosion in civil liberties.
Shore 122 – But can you apply that newfound knowledge to good use. Dare you to comprise a single post incorporating all your new vocabulary words. After all, you do need to prove that you understand their context.
[83] morph,
DOJ CR div is hiring. But you have to be a true believer. Helps if you are of the right suspect class.
Jamil 144 – Shore a racist teabagger? Yesterday I thought he was a socialist? I can’t keep up.
#144: Answer me this and only respond to this: how do we as a nation, pay for all the costs associated with the illegals: healthcare, housing, etc.
We have a lot of other economic issues facing us but for the moment, address this issue.
The thought of kicking them out is not a road I would want to go down.
Your suggested course of action is?
[83] morph,
Actually, Jamil has the right idea–he is only renting, which means he is not a bagholder. He can head for the exit at any time.
If I knew then what I know now, I would have never bought a house in NJ. I did because I figured a 20 yr horizon was sufficient to recover, and because the spouse committed to the state.
Both assumptions are now in question.
“He can head for the exit at any time.”
Might I suggest now?
[153] stu
Took you 4 whole minutes. Must be slowing down.
#134 On another note. I am very surprised that with Fed MBS purchasing ending in less than 3 weeks, there is almost no talk of it in the MSM.
Even more surprising with the the silly 8k tax credit ending in a mere 50 days, there has again been almost no talk of that either, as far as it ending, and talk of extending and expanding it etc. Very interesting.Do TPTB have another plan up their sleeve, or are these gimmicks really going to quietly die shortly?
155.
Mainstream media is more inclined to talk about the gay Congressmans groping of Rahm Emanuel in the shower.
[147] Al,
Actually, the real erosion is going to be all the new IRS reporting requirements, some in implemenation and some on the Dems’s wish list.
Taken to their logical extreme, we are envisioning a future when virtually every financial transaction will be reportable to the IRS, if such transaction is not “on the grid.” Already, we have reporting requirements for cash transactions (did you know, if you pay cash for your car, the dealer has to report you to the government?), and that will be expanded under proposed legislation to include virtually any cash transaction over a certain dollar amount.
The goal is to root out and tax the underground economy. The result will be that the IRS will have, or be able to easily get, a nearly complete record of your spending habits. And if you can’t produce records matching up nearly every dollar in to every dollar out, well, let’s just say “Ve haf vays to make you talk.”
#152 Renting is the new black
Nom, 152
You see now why I haven’t.
My only (albeit, transient) fear is telling FIL that I want to rent vs. buy.
I, too, don’t see 20 yrs as an adequate time line. My fear of what’s coming has me still poised, angst-riddled, in limbo.
sl
Nom,
Sorry about my delay. I’m trying to get some work done here.
Nom you are correct, even though it would probably be better to institute a nationwide consumption tax.
Whomever suggested the flat tax across the board with no exceptions, no way out. I’m with you, if your making ten grand a year is giving a 170 bucks really making or breaking you. It is like 49 cents a day, No it is the 10 grand your earning and your awful spending habits not the tax. Too many loopholes and sacred cows.
Sensing such a general disgust with my customers and co-workers that I think freedy’s motto is close to being adopted by all. With govt.backstops in place for TBTF people are going to let banks have it. I don’t think it will be an orchestratd attack but more of a sense of people letting go of other debts like they did for their homes.
[139] joisey,
It will only be bloody if illegals riot to resist deportation. I suggest that the illegals would be the ones to bear the brunt of such rioting and bloodshed, especially if the rioting turned especially violent, or they decide to riot in the wrong part of the state, where some folks may simply decide that calling the cops is too much trouble. . .
Now, if you are suggesting that Mexico would intervene militarily in response to a USG crackdown on illegals (inconceivable, but hey, we raised it), well, we may see a new record for the world’s shortest war. I mean, does Mexico have an air superiority fighter??? Didn’t think so.
As for securing the southern border. Certainly, every Swede, German, British. Italian, Serbe, Russian, Indian, and other caucasian illegal who breaks intp the US should also be thrown out.
Illegal is illegal.
Perhaps even those here who appear less capable, or even incapable, of nuanced thought can grasp this concept.
How much is a high credit score going to be worth when people start to calculate if they should walk away from all debts?
Trash your score to save 40k? 50k?
What’s your number?
[161] pain
A flat tax will not much affect the underlying issue of tax evasion. Those in the cash economy will always feel compelled to cheat. In fact, I find it ironic that those who cheat the most would be the ones with little or no real tax liability now, and even less under full Obamanomics.
BTW, voluntary tax compliance by wage slaves is over 90%. Among other groups, it is much lower.
[164] teabagger,
Yes, fair is fair. But there are those who actually will complain that the mexicans should all be thrown out, but want to lift the wire a little for the “immigrants” from their ancestral homes. Years ago, the irish-american politicians were famous for this.
Nom cheaters always cheat, or find new ways to do it. Consumption tax would probaably be the best alternative. 2% consumption, plus a national flat of 16 %. Captures some of that cash economy dollars while continuing to bleed us wage slaves.
The problem is controlling government spending and tying it to tax receipts. which will never happen
Teabagger
I dont care what color your skin is or where you come from. if you are here illegally, GET OUT!
12 Yikes
is that with any money down? I’d rather not put any money down
I think the 2WD Pilot was $299 w/ 2K down. 350 month w/ no money down, based on their “top tier” credit, which is a joke (710 FICO).
Honda has some $1500 cash back to dealers promo going too. Check the forums on edmunds dot com to see what people are paying.
italics off
I just don’t see how leasing makes sense unless you’ve got money to burn.
Then again, I’m driving a 15 year old car that costs me next to nothing to insure and cost me $13,700. It still gets close to 40 mpg as well. Only repair outside of routine maintenance was the alternator. She’ll be going up to Windham this weekend.
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Commercial real estate owners are walking away from properties that have become untenable as investments, just as homeowners have walked away from houses they can no longer afford to pay off or sell.
The latest commercial property owner to do this is Vornado Realty Trust (VNO), the $13 billion real estate investment trust, which warned last week that it would walk away from two loans totaling $235 million.
The trend is likely to escalate in coming months as more loans mature and refinancing remains difficult and costly. As with residential properties, there is less incentive for owners to hold on to properties when the buildings are worth less than what is owed on their mortgages.
http://tinyurl.com/yztmula
Stu-
I’m driving my last new car purchased 7 years ago. When this dies, used cars for cash. No more loans.
For those who think there should be moral condemnation of people who mail their keys to the bank and walk away from their underwater mortgages, I hope there is moral outrage at CRE owners (see previous post).
Nom at 166/7
What you said.
Re: illegal immigrants.
This past weekend I made the suggestion that perhaps we would be better off if illegals were sent home.
I found myself between my ultra-liberal FIL who said that everyone who wants to be here should be allowed to stay and his arch-conservative son who said they just take the jobs no Americans want to do.
I said I think I’ll go grab another beer. You guys want one?
beer,
got guinness?
still looking
“My only (albeit, transient) fear is telling FIL that I want to rent vs. buy.”
Tell FIL to stuff it. MIL finally stopped telling me that “buying is always better than renting.” Of course, as soon as she stopped, I bought, but that was more for personal reasons than economic.
I heard the usual a$$hattery on NPR this morning: “Foreclosures in February were down!!!!” Of course, moments later come to find out that they were up 6% over last February.
Like saying “my headache is getting better” when what you mean is that it hurts more today than yesterday, but not by as wide a margin as yesterday’s headache exceeded the pain of Tuesday’s headache.
[176] sir
Thanks. Saw you were missing from the masthead I last had you at.
R U in NOLA these days? Drop me a line. You have the email.
Nom deplume
“If I knew then what I know now, I would have never bought a house in NJ. I did because I figured a 20 yr horizon was sufficient to recover, and because the spouse committed to the state.”
You are officially the “Anti-Richard”. You prove your bona fides!
180 Nom – I lost it, actually. Grim, can you send me nom’s email (and/or mine to him)?
Different masthead, nom. And yes – in NOLA, with a 5 minute commute (but only if there’s a line at the rive-thru daiquiri stand).
that would be “drive-thru” daiquiri stand.
jamil
“Shore did not have any problems of (Dem) President using constitutional authority for wiping out japanese cities without any military purpose (to paraphrase honorable Tom Hanks)”
Hmmm. Japan swears to “fight on to the bitter end”.
Nuclear bombs dropped on August 6th and 9th.
Japan surrenders on August 15th.
Seems to be a correlation, no?
I’m not judging the morality of it, but to say that this was “without any military purpose” is childish.
Tom Hanks is a lovely man, but you should probably get your history lessons elsewhere.
“GET OUT”
Ket,
I believe the correct phrase is “Get the fcuk out, and don’t let thr door hit you when you go.”
I for one want the best from everywhere. Also, those folks, regardless of academic/economic achievement who have rebelled against despots and lost, I would gladly offer them refuge, as people should be encouraged to fight for liberty and should not receive the Czech or Hungarian treatment.
Heck, if we want to create a path to immigrate here that includes a stint carrying a rifle for Uncle Sam, I would not object; however, one who has broken into the country and then broken assorted laws by staying here is unworthy of being allowed to stay — regardless of race or nationality.
john
“I have a cousin who makes 80K a year with and unemployed husband buying a 900k house in a few weeks as they feel it is the bottom in housing and they want to get in on their dream home.”
I’ve had dreams just like that dream. But then I wake up screaming and sweating.
“ut to say that this was without any military purpose is childish”
Which Japanese cities had huge military-industrial plants still in operation and were cloudless on the days of the strikes?
Hummmmm, I wonder.
Also, Sir Rents, is it possible for you to explain to certain less-nuanced people here the difference between a raid on a village in which noncombattants are killed and a planned massacre of a village’s civillian population.
Can’t you just feel the love in here today? It is like being in Eric Massa’s congressional office.
“lift the wire a little for the “immigrants” from their ancestral homes. Years ago, the irish-american politicians were famous for this.”
Nom, Its amazing how effecient govt becomes when you slip a bottle of baileys under the table to a public official.
I’m still trying to find out what a rectal bottle is.
187 teabagger
Indeedy – there was a whole secondary issue there that I didn’t bother to unwrap.
Shore, please stop non-sexually groping jamil.
“2% consumption, plus a national flat of 16 %.”
Pain, wouldnt consumption tax make us a bunch of cheap, money saving penny pinchers?
That will make perfect sense when china makes every single product sold in america.
#192 That will make perfect sense when china makes every single product sold in america
I owuld say we are pretty close to that now.
d2b (162)-
I posited that same sort of idea here a few months ago. I just put it in reverse terms:
How much is someone willing to pay for an excellent credit score?
194 is to 165.
Shore 188 – And in the continued vein of all Montclair, all the time, he’s a little Stephen Colbert on that topic.
Replace the * in the link with an e.
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/colbert-demonstrates-massa-style-non-s*xual-groping-with-an-intern-video.php
renty (175)-
VNO probably got a pop on the news.
When the time comes, I will short that pile of crap into the ground.
#74
“O wants to place a medicare tax on high earners unearned income (interest, dividends, rents, etc.) 200k for single 250k for married are high income.”
yet another penalty for saving money.
163.
Nom,
The Mexican military is far more equipped than most people give them credit. They couldnt do much though. A US armored division on those open desert would make easy work of the Mexicans.
Veto your assuming that Americans would stop spending, the current recession should prove that otherwise. Most of the mouthbreathing citizenry are unable to live without the latest gadget do-dad or want of the month. Since we have become a consumerist society, our tax structure should reflect as such.
Those who save will continue to save, but on a greater scale. The debtors will continue to debtors with the added bonus of their credit card purchases fueling the military industrial complex.
The only thing that shouldn’t be taxed at purchase is bread and water. That should be enough for rabble to survive.
pain,
my point is that im agreeing with you.
Sorry V didn’t detect sarcasm herding idiots today at work
Whatever district voted in a lunatic like Massa should be disenfranchised.
Forever.
AL,
its even easier then that. Pay the drug lords to run a gorrilla warfare campaign behind mexican lines. It could tie up a significant portion of their forces.
Gov. Chris Christie today will create a commission to privatize as many as 2,000 state jobs beginning next January, officials said Wednesday night.
As he grapples with an $11 billion deficit in the budget he will present on Tuesday, Christie is also considering invoking the Disaster Control Act to suspend Civil Service rules to make it easier for him to lay off higher-paid workers, according to two administration officials.
The Republican governor today plans to sign an executive order creating the task force to cut the size and cost of the state payroll. Three officials familiar with his plans last night said the commission will identify which jobs or agencies would be operated by the private sector and how that would be accomplished. The officials declined to be named ahead of the announcement.
Privatizing jobs would require layoffs. By beginning them in January, Christie would not be subject to a deal between former Gov. Jon Corzine and state worker unions that would require the state to pay millions in raises to remaining workers if he orders layoffs before then.
Suspending civil service would allow Christie to order layoffs of higher-paid unionized state employees with many years of service, rather than the usual practice of layoffs that affect lower-paid new employees first, the officials said. Currently, workers with more seniority can “bump” less-experienced workers from their jobs.
The privatization effort deals a blow to state worker unions just 48 hours after Christie publicly acknowledged he is bound by the agreement struck by Corzine where state workers would get two 3.5 percent raises in the coming fiscal year Ð one in July and one in January. They deferred one raise and took 10 unpaid furlough days last year in exchange for the no-layoff pledge.
Nice! Who predicted the disaster act clause yesterday?
I love the smell of austerity in the morning. Fix bayonets!
pain (202)-
You own a RE company, too?
“…herding idiots today at work”
Just this morning i saw a home get 50K knocked off the asking price.
Now there are almost no redicuously overpriced homes left in my town. They pretty have all capitulated and are asking 2004-05 prices.
Cant wait to submit some low balls that puts them back on their heels.
Pain 200.
Dont forget the tax exemption for the zanax. have to keep the sheep nice and sedate.
“How much is someone willing to pay for an excellent credit score?”
Clot, I want the bumper sticker version.
hrtz, what is a “gadget do dad”? Is that the answer to clot’s question of what a rectal bottle is?
Veto,
may i suggest you start the lowball at 99 prices ( just to piss them off a little more)
“Whatever district voted in a lunatic like Massa should be disenfranchised”
Look back at the link, I think it was, Gator posted recently. Massa was clearly superior to the other guy. I wonder what is in the water of NY’s southern tier counties?
About fighting Mexico, let us not forget that we invaded Mexico less than 100 years ago — Pershing in 1916.
I wonder, will we see another Zimmerman Telegram?
“start the lowball at 99 prices”
ooohhh, yeah kettle. i like this idea.
a lot.
Whats that like 50% off asking price? on avg?
I will submit in person so i can savor the facial expressions.
Veto,
yes, its 50% off asking
Clot – quality assurance where the intelligent go to be disliked
Hyde – why bother the water is already full of estrogens and other industry by products we only have to titer it with a higher concentration ofantidepressants.
Sir – Iphone, ipad, beeny baby, rectal bottle, all the same gadget do-dads
Veto,
To account for property taxes you might want to start at 60% off
pain,
perhaps we should start a covert program to introduce testosterone into the drinking water. it would make life a little more interesting :)
Perhaps engineer some aquatic bacteria to secrete testosterone / testosterone analogues and release them into the wild (aka water ways)
217.
Now that is an evironmental plan I can support.
American men would lose their man tits in weeks and throw their eyebrow shavers and perfumes into the ocean.
“you might want to start at 60% off”
Kettle, Im undecided if my ultimate goal is to get black-balled or to purchase a fairly priced home.
60% off asking will surely accomplish one or the other – or both which is ideal.
Al,
your wife might put out a little more often, but she’s going to be getting waxed a bit more often as well.
It might make political discourse a little more interesting too
hyde – a plan I would support but I like my ladies free of facial hair and not looking like the East German Women’s Olympic Weightlifting team.
#207 They pretty have all capitulated and are asking 2004-05 prices.
To which I would add are over priced too.
220.
Lol. I can tolerate a bigger waxing bill if shes willing to pick up a semi automatic weapon with a smile on her face.
pain,
the average birth control pill should be enough to counter the major effects of low level testosterone exposure.
Clot 203 – That would be the 29th Congressional District of NY.
Prior to Massa they twice elected the guy who pulled the shotguns on his wife.
3 strikes law?
Gator,
Is that where your relatives are?
Sorry Shore. My cousin’s live in the 25th. And she’s a cousin by marriage. I have to believe she’s brainwashed my blood relative.
Al,
maybe your wife should drink whatever mine does. My wife giggles maniacally as she puts round after round center mass.
Fine woman you got there hyde fine woman. Mine does the same when she dusts clay pigeons.
Sure the pill will countermand any externally ingested testosterone but how do you account for dose effect from the naturally and unaturally occuring oesterols. It would probably increase women’s cancers past the already high rate.
If I recall correctly, John is the expert on the Mexican military. Don’t you recall his stories of all the mines they’ve laid in his backyard?
FD: About the rectal bottle…I heard a story from an ER friend of mine that he once had to remove a bingo dauber from an inpatients colon. As they were digging it out, the cap broke and there was blue ink everywhere. True story.
Now if I was the doctor, I would have yelled “Bingo” as soon as the lid cracked.
Still any A$$ box stories for the group?
230.
That doesnt compare to the story of the black power fist pulled out of some guys ass at NYU. You know that was a mafia hit.
[198] skeptic
Not if you engage in some better tax planning.
My question is whether it will apply to munis. Technically, it isn’t an income tax, so it may well.
[182] sir,
Here’s my open source NJRER email,
nomdeplumenj@gmail.com
And if you recall my firm’s name (the one in Jersey, not the old one you used to joust with), you can look me up.
gator (225)-
Actually, pulling a shotgun on one’s wife is a much more coherent act than Massa’s latest media appearances.
152:
Nom,
You said a mouthful. Lots of this going around.
Both assumptions are now in question.
Synovus Financial shares gained 11.2% following a presentation at the Citi Financial Services Conference, where the financial services firm reportedly said it expects to return to profitability in 2010.
Hey, John:
Bond of the Day (courtesy Goldman Sachs Bucket Shop)-
“Here comes the first municipal Hail Mary: Detroit is attempting to sell $250 million in debt, while disclosing in the associated prospectus of the possibility of filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. The kicker – no recent financial statements are available. In fact, Detroit is providing investors with a a financial statement from June 30, 2008, with a fiscal 2009 report “expected” to be complete by May 31. To say that a lot has changed in the past two years for the city whose unemployment some say is in the double digits with a 3 handle,would be an understatment. Yet we are confident that having no access to actual financials will not stop investors who in their feverish quest of Return On Capital are completely forgetting about the Return Of Capital concept.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/detroit-attempts-sell-250-million-bonds-without-financial-disclosure-goldman
John (238)-
Synovus presenting at a C conference is the financial equivalent of a guy trying hard to get laid at closing time.
hi, lurker/troll needs tax help.
my wife and i both have jobs (still). I have a small business selling things on Ebay as well (schedule C). Filed last years taxes “married filing jointly”.
If my wife or I were to become unemployed, would this sched C income have any affect on our ability to collect unemployment compensation?
Should i start filing “married separately” to avoid any potential issues with this?
thanks in advance for any thoughts
(Stu/Gator, love you guys but had to rank on the Montclair stuff yesterday sorry)
235 nom – yes – will fire off to you later today.
From an ASCAP newsletter, if done well, this could be worth seeking out and watching:
“What is music? It’s a simple question, but it leads director Christopher Pomerenke in many complicated artistic and scientific directions in his documentary The Heart Is a Drum Machine “
Clot 236 – I have never once pulled a deadly weapon on Stu. Does this qualify or disqualify me from public office?
There all “10”‘s at 4 a.m.!!!!
BTW Final Doom you are such a Dr. Doofeshmirtz but I am your Perry.
Final Doom says:
March 11, 2010 at 4:03 pm
John (238)-
Synovus presenting at a C conference is the financial equivalent of a guy trying hard to get laid at closing time.
245. Sounds like you are looking to snorkel him.
Does this mean happy days are here again?
Smith & Wesson third-quarter profit flat
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/smith-wesson-third-quarter-profit-flat-2010-03-11
[241] randy
I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think UI depends on your tax returns, but your work status. Thus, if you lose a job, you can collect, provided you are unemployed
That said, you query whether you are self-employed, and indeed you are. Again, I can’t say if that affects your UI, but it should not (don’t hold me to this) affect your wife.
Married filing separate will have no effect on your UI if you try to collect–you still have the self-employ income. Further, I doubt it affects your spouse. Finally, it can affect what you pay the feds, so be careful with that.
(IRS Circular 230 Disclaimer: To ensure compliance with IRS Circular 230, any U.S. federal tax advice provided in this communication is not intended or written to be used, and it cannot be used by the recipient or any other taxpayer (i) for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the recipient or any other taxpayer, or (ii) in promoting, marketing or recommending to another party a partnership or other entity, investment plan, arrangement or other transaction addressed herein. )
245:
John this is for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKUAtMT_g_I
“Does this mean happy days are here again?
Smith & Wesson third-quarter profit flat”
Yome, i think smith and wesson are high end guns. Economy is so bad that people are buying ‘gats’ off the streets now.
Like rats deserting the sinking ship . . .
“More executives left their positions as the economy began to recover, according to a report from outplacement consultancy firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
In all, 132 CEOs departed their positions in February—a 17-month high—and a 48 percent increase from the 89 executives who left in January. The number is 61 percent higher than it was a year ago. . . .
The increase in turnover could also be seasonal, as executives wait for their bonuses to come in before leaving, said Charley Polachi, a partner at Boston based executive search firm Polachi.
“In the first quarter there is aways a higher turnover rate,” said Polachi, who has been in the executive search business for 32 years. “They wait to collect their bonus, and move on to their next assignment.”
. . . Executive turnover was the most prevalent in the shifting health care sector, which saw 22 CEOs leaving the top spot, a result of the looming health care bill.
“Health care is in such a state of great flux,” said Challenger. “If the bill passes, there will be new demands on the CEO. Even if it doesn’t pass, the system is at a breaking point.”
I don’t intend to be too “in your face” with this, and I know it’s completely inappropriate but I will just say it anyway! Whhhhhaat the heck has Obama been smoking these days? There, I got it off my chest! :)
stu says:
March 10, 2010 at 12:03 pm
I have created a Jamil argument generator.
The ills of the world are 100% attributable to ______________ (may choose more than one)
A. Acorn
B. Lefties
C. Obama
D. Radicals
E. Obama
F. Communists
G. Obama
H. Socialists
You won’t find the truth in the ______________ (may choose more than one)
A. MSM
B. Wikipedia
C. Spoken Word
D. Anywhere but at the local tea bagger rally.
E. Anything except what comes out of Glenn Beck’s mouth.
F. MSM
In the rankings of the world’s greatest leaders, one would be hard pressed not place ______________ (may choose more than one) just behind Jesus.
A. Bush (either)
B. Reagan
C. Glenn Beck
D. Reagan
E. Palin
F. Reagan
G. Reagan
perhaps your finest work ever, Stu. well done.
WTF???? Marquette???? Where’d they come from?
Final Doom says:
March 10, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Which places will be the first to decide that schools are not necessary?
Texas? Mississippi? One of those radical right states in the south where mountain dew mouth rules and IQs match the number of teeth they have left.
Ket, when is the Mrs.’ b-day?.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=axhinsK6QVGU
heh, who said good entertainment cannot be free.
Baiting low-IQ liberals defending (Dem) President’s constitutional wartime authority of ordering indiscriminate mass-murder of civilians (high altitute nuke detonation in Hiroshima/Nagasaki in order to maximise civilian casualties) and getting said libs to admit that Hollowood liberals are idiots was almost too easy.
Well, when libs don’t even get it that they are being mocked, I almost feel sorry.
I think Shore deserves a beer if he can, with straigh face, defend nuking civilian cities and then attacking Yoo for legal memo that pointed out that according to the constitution, and long-time DOJ view and precedents (even Hiroshima) the President has broad wartime authority and allowing non-lethal interrogation on illegal enemy combatant is ok (btw, every marine is subjected to waterboarding during training).
If Shore can do that, beer is deserved.
255.
In my opinion. Public schools arent necessary. Your kid is better off living off the land than living under the indoctrination of the pedophiles in the UN.
Its election year get ready for spin city. Buy your houses, sell your bullion, lever up. Im taking lay away on the “I told you so” come next year.
Fed Gets Credit for Rescue
Economists Say Stimulus Helped but Cite U.S. Central Bank’s Key Role
The $787 billion stimulus package was a good for the economy, but the Federal Reserve played the biggest role in rescuing the U.S. economy from the financial crisis, according to the majority of economists in the latest Wall Street Journal forecasting survey.
“A much worse result would have occurred if nothing had been done,” said survey participant Allen Sinai of Decision Economics, co-author of a paper examining the effects of government intervention with colleague Paul Edelstein. But “the absence of monetary policy easing [by the Fed] would have resulted in a much worse economy than the absence of the fiscal policy stimulus.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703625304575115674057260664.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection
Hi fiveee
WTF??? BF*T*???
Valley National Bank, Wayne, New Jersey, Assumes All of the Deposits of LibertyPointe Bank, New York, New York
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2010
sl
The FDIC and Valley National Bank entered into a loss-share transaction on $181.5 million of LibertyPointe Bank’s assets
…ugh.
sl
yet more……
The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $24.8 million. Valley National Bank’s acquisition of all the deposits was the “least costly” resolution for the FDIC’s DIF compared to all alternatives. LibertyPointe Bank is the 27th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the first in New York. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Waterford Village Bank, Williamsville, July 24, 2009.
sl
sorry for the waste of bandwidth…
Nom,
Need to run a question past you if you have a free 5 or 10 mins…
sl
Al “The Thermostat” Gore says:
March 10, 2010 at 8:26 pm
Heres a good website if you want to check the health of your local bank. Measures the troubled asset ratio vs the national median.
http://banktracker.msnbc.msn.com/banks/
i just checked the 4 major banks in the vicinity. guess which one came in Tops? The one the Canadians are part of – TD Bank.
i dont feel a bank run on TD bank is happening anytime soon (assuming that site is legit)
#257 Jamil
Not as sorry as we feel for you. Your misguided politics and positions just come across as pathetic and sad.
You keep throwing up the constitution as a sacred text (which it is) but don’t stand up for the attacks on it. John Yoos actions took out the 4th amendment and put the 6th and 8th under extreme pressure. Here is a great example of his stance on the 1st.
“First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully,”
You say the constitution gives the president total and plenary powers in a time of war. Well here is were that breaks down. While we are at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 4th amendment was taken apart to fight the “War on Terror(tm)”, that great war that “has no boundaries in time or space”. How does that war ever end. We can’t withdraw from and invaded country, we can accept a surrender. It is a war without boundaries and the consequence under your premise is that the president will always have unfettered power to override the constitution as we will be perpetually at war.
Say that is the case, where do you stand if the president takes apart the 2nd amendment. Those home grown terror1sts will be frustrated if they can’t walk into a CO Wal-Mart and buy arms over the counter. Hey we are at war, if we can violate the 4th under plenary law, then why not the 2nd.
Nom says that he sees “kernels of truth in the hyperbole” I’m not sure I would even give you that. You take a kernel of a talking point wrap it in Right wing rhetoric, toss in a few personal insults and take a hissy fit if you get questioned.
pgc, i took the daily personal insults and violent threats from board liberals for months. Now I just enjoy mocking low-IQ libs.
light hearted phineas and ferb:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7xdLpOdDHo
my son and I like this one a great deal.
You know how easily we liberals, with a low IQ, are entertained
More anectdotal green shoots – our director held a meeting today to discuss 2010 initiatives plus describe his strategy meetings with the CEO. New company-wide policy to replace 80% of attrition hires with recent college grads. 80%!! It used to be 20%. This is a large investment bank coming off a decent year. If this is the new norm for banks then NYC is f-ed.
#267 Jamil
” i took the daily personal insults and violent threats from board liberals ”
I dont think you could ever call the likes of Clot a liberal.
Do you want to debate the content of the post and your stand on the constitution?
261.
SL,
Thanks for the heads up. This is what bank tracker had them at as of Dec.
http://banktracker.msnbc.msn.com/banks/new-jersey/wayne/valley-national-bank/
Hudson City isnt looking to good if you go by that chart. There are about 1000 banks in the US under distress.
My bet is 1000+ go down before this is over.
265.
Yikes,
TD looks strong but I feel dirty doing business with them since it was G. Norcross’ old bank (Commerce).
I’m no fan of Sen. Harry Reid’s politics but he could use a little sympathy today – his wife and daughter were in a serious car accident. His wife has a broken back and neck.
re 273:
be nice jamil.
Still
I like that your enjoying Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged it is a great book that I first read in my teens. First time around, I was too young to really appreciate it. Now a few :*) years later I can get the main message.
One of the great ironies is that Libertarians love it, but if your go on to research Rand herself, she rips the movement a new one.
However, for me the book a a few flaws. The thought of the creative John Galts of the world taking off with their creative juice is a great concept. The book misses the true meaning of a Symbiotic relationship. There is a great real world example that is over looked. We have seen a discussion today on the impact into California of Immigration. What if all the immigrants (legal and illegal) got up and went south of the border. What impact would there be on today’s world. Would that bring back the dust bowl politcs of the “Grapes of Wrath” Could today’s workforce and economy adapt to such a change.
One things for sure, it would solve Al’s problem with water rights in the Central Valley.
If you want a great book to follow it up with, try Neville Shute “On the beach”
[261] still
WTF. It’s not friday???
email me now at nomdeplumenj@gmail.com. I will get you my cell number as I am on my way out of the office shortly.
“I dont think you could ever call the likes of Clot a liberal. ”
Jamil has on several occasions called Shore Guy a “liberal”. I wouldn’t put it past him.
the US Constitution is not a sacred text. Sacred texts do not allow for amendments.
Ayn Rand, Noam Chompsky – two sides of the same coin. Two overrated windbags who trade on the wide eyed naivety of your average poly sci sophomore.
Regarding Reids families car accident injuries.
I would expect more of the same.
Live by the sword die by the sword.
NJREReport GTG?
http://www.seats3d.com/mls/new_york_red_bulls/
#278 Barbara
Your in fighting mood tonight
I’ll throw up the Talmud and the New Testement as examples.
#278 Barabra
Naiety aside, do you have an issue with their underlying tenets. Step up and let the debate begin.
#281 Chi
Could be tempted. Family friendly? If I take a rugrat it would be an easier sell.
#280 Al
By that premise, you’re demise will be Oscar winning material!
You know what’s funny ChiFi?
I was thinking the same thing. I haven’t been to a Redbull match since they were the MetroStars, but I enjoyed them thoroughly, lousy skill level and all. Can we get juiced up somewhere in the ironbound prior to the game?
Gator and child of Gator would participate. Well not in the juicing portion, but you know what I mean.
” On the beach”
Great book. When I was in 8th grade I came to really like it. At the time, Fail Safe, Seven Days in May and Dark Horse also made an impression.
Hey Sastry,
Have you heard? Apparently I am a liberal now (I hope my producer at Fox doesn’t find out). Can you do me a favor and help me with the conversion? If there is a secret handshake or something, I would appreciate learning what it is.
chi, or…
http://philadelphiaunion.com/Content1.aspx?cid=4.0_
Am I allowed to wear leather shoes anymore or is that out in liberal circles? SOMEONE, please help me to understand.
Also, do these Birkenstocks go with this tie?
You will learn the secret handshake at your initial meeting of the local Acorn chapter.
“”KickStart Chester”
Yea, right. The PA version of Camden.
Stu,
Thanks. I really do want to make a good impression.
re: Valley National Bank
Been a customer over 20 years no surprise about the FDIC and them doing a deal they are rock solid.
Anecdotal: my first car loan was from them. I was 18 and had little credit, but after checking my references at the Gym, the video rental store (before Blockbuster) and a few other sources the gave me the 5k used car loan. I think it was the dozen or so wealthy customers that I used as references from my landscaping business that made the difference. :)
Try that one in 2010….
who cares about all the illegals in California?
when the big quake hits, they’ll all be wiped off the map into the pacific.
(i actually have plenty of friends there, many of them want out)
248 Nom
My take on that question was the same. Circular 230 disclaimer incorporated by reference.
“In all, 132 CEOs departed their positions in February”
No wonder I’ve been so f*cking busy.
No rest for the weary. Look you up tomorrow.
Cheers for the post, your blog is good! I’ve been having trouble staying updated with the election this past month but this totally helps.
Nice looking blog you have here. The theme is awesome, great color combination.
People come to this country for a better life in 99% of the cases. They are even willing to do the work no one else will. Without them our production as a nation and economic output would even (if possible) be more pathetic.
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Is it me or did this article make you want to buy an iPad?
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Is it me or did this article make you want to buy an iPad?
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The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee has been spotted during testing, and the SUV wasn’t wearing any of the camouflage we’re used to seeing. Even more surprising, engineers weren’t putting the truck through its paces out at Moab. Instead, the eagle-eyed crew over at Piston Spy nabbed a few shots of the Grand Cherokee as it was making laps of the Nurburgring.
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We have a confession to make. We’ve been smitten with this car since first stumbling across it on Fantasy Junction earlier this year. The 1953 Siata 208S you see above is one of 35 ever created, and this particular example has an unmatched ownership pedigree. Its first owner was none other than Cool himself, Steve McQueen. If that’s not enough to send your eyebrows to your hairline, have a listen to the little roadsters specs. Under the hood you’ll find a Fiat 2.3-liter V8 that has been reworked to produce around 137 horsepower at the rear wheels. There’s no word on how much the thing weighs, but we’re guessing the figure is somewhere between packing peanuts and meringue. Pure. Driving. Joy.
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As usual, Volkswagen has used this year’s annual GTI meetup in Wörthersee, Austria to unveil new special variants of the sporty Golf. Of the two cars revealed today, the Golf GTI Adidas (above) will go on sale in Europe next month while the GTI Excessive shall remain a concept.
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Seeing a more indepth review of the iPhone 4 past all the glory and assumptions, owners are finally recognizing that the iPhone 4 is coming out to be an awesome expensive paperweight. With dropped calls are now occuring a lot more frequently, it is unavoidably turning out to be a software flaw coming from the designer, Apple. There was a class action lawsuit filed only 6 days after launch accusing Apple and AT&T on numerous terms of negligence.
The government today threw open a debate on opening up of the retail sector for foreign direct investment (FDI) saying it will not only help farmers earn more but also keep the price-line under check
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From the sublime to the ridiculous is only one step
The Zune concentrates on being a Portable Media Player. Not a web browser. Not a game machine. Maybe in the future it’ll do even better in those areas, but for now it’s a fantastic way to organize and listen to your music and videos, and is without peer in that regard. The iPod’s strengths are its web browsing and apps. If those sound more compelling, perhaps it is your best choice.