From the Federal Reserve:
The Beige Book Second District–New York
Construction and Real Estate
Housing markets have been steady to somewhat firmer since the last report, with the gains largely attributed to the soon-to-expire home-buyer tax credit spurring demand at the lower end. Realtors across New York State report that sales activity was roughly 20 percent higher in April than a year earlier and prices were up about 8 percent on average. Similarly, Buffalo-area Realtors report that home sales were brisk in April, and that prices were up more than 10 percent from a year earlier, though conditions are reported to have cooled off dramatically in May, due to the end of the tax credit. An authority on New Jersey’s housing industry also reports a moderate pickup in sales activity this quarter, particularly at the lower end of the market–again, largely attributed to the home-buyer tax credit. In other segments of northern New Jersey’s market, prices are essentially flat, and price trends are not as robust as builders and developers had expected, as a large “shadow inventory” of existing homes is said to be weighing down the market. There is concern that conditions will weaken again in the third quarter, without the support of the home-buyer tax credit. Housing affordability remains a major issue.
Activity in Manhattan’s co-op and condo market has leveled off, following a modest pickup in the first quarter. The pace of new contract signings has retreated a bit in recent weeks, while prices have held steady at about 20-30 percent below their peak. There remains a large supply of units on the markets, though one contact notes that the inventory of competitively priced units is fairly lean. While the home-buyer tax credit has had little impact on Manhattan’s high-priced market, it has reportedly had a positive effect elsewhere in New York City, where prices are considerably more moderate. Manhattan’s apartment rental market has strengthened since the last report. Rents have recovered modestly, and landlords are offering less generous concessions than last year or even a few months ago. The inventory of available rental units has stabilized.
From the WSJ:
US Mortgage Application Volume Plunged 12% Last Week
The volume of mortgage applications filed in the U.S. last week slumped a seasonally adjusted 12% from the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday, as the refinancing surge ran out of steam and the index for home purchases hit another fresh 13-year low.
Refinance activity plunged 14% on the week, according to the MBA’s weekly survey, which covers more than half of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications. Purchasing fell 5.7% in the week.
Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics, said refinance applications dropped for the first time in a month despite historically low rates because those who qualify for refinancing have already done so. Many homeowners can’t refinance because they remain underwater on their mortgages, have uncertain job prospects or have damaged credit following the downturn, he said.
From the NYT:
In a Slow Real Estate Market, Indecision Is on the Rise
DURING the residential real estate boom, in the seller’s market that once was — do you remember it? — the wildly high returns and the low inventory meant snap decisions and swifter deals. There was no dithering, no backing out; no room, really, for second or third thoughts. There were attendant stresses and ruts along the path to selling a home or buying one. But more often than not, a deal was done, for better or worse.
Today, with credit unfrozen and prices still low, some home sellers and shoppers are having a change of heart, in many cases at the 11th hour — a course swivel that stuns all involved.
It might look like a failure to launch or an inability to pull the trigger. But as houses and apartments have become “homes” again, as opposed to “real estate,” all the complicated and powerful feelings people associate with their homes — “the place you store your memories,” as Kit Yarrow, professor of psychology and business at Golden Gate University put it — have space again to bloom and, sometimes, entangle.
…
In Moorestown, N.J., Arleen Shabel, an artist, is practicing tough love on her husband of 48 years by gearing up to put their house on the market next month for a third time.
She recalled the second time she and her husband, Norman, a lawyer and a writer of thrillers, listed their house about a year ago. During a showing to a “very interested” prospect, Mr. Shabel ran to pull the “For Sale” sign from the lawn.
“We’ve been here for 23 years and it is our dream home,” Ms. Shabel said, describing a 7,000-square-foot house they designed themselves. “So it’s hard for him. But next month, if I can get it decluttered, it will go on the market for a third time. And if he backs out, I think I will kill him.”
From MarketWatch:
The housing-market recession is not over
After years of hearing how home prices are plummeting and foreclosures are mounting, consumers want to feel hopeful about the housing market — but maybe they’re being too optimistic.
In a presentation to the National Association of Real Estate Editors in Austin, Texas, last week, Stan Humphries, Zillow.com’s chief economist, pointed to four myths he said consumers are latching on to as they try to make sense of recent housing statistics.
The four myths:
1.
The housing recession is over. It’s not, Humphries said. He estimates the bottom in home prices won’t come until the third quarter, at least from a national perspective. Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae and also a speaker at the conference, agreed with that estimation.
2.
After markets hit bottom, prices will rebound to boom levels. Not going to happen, at least for a while, Humphries said. “Once we hit bottom, the bottom is going to be a long and flat affair across the markets,” he said. “What we’re going to see once we hit bottom is the second phase of the housing recession… that second phase is one of being flat.”
3.
The worst of the foreclosure mess is behind us. More wishful thinking, according to Humphries. He estimates foreclosures will peak later this year, then remain elevated for a while. Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, said he doesn’t envision foreclosure activity stabilizing until late 2011.
4.
The tax credits saved the housing market. With or without a tax credit, those who bought would have done so anyway, Humphries said. “The biggest impact [in home sales] we believe were low prices… low interest rates and the unsung factor here is the ramped up lending by the Federal Housing Administration.”
“rices were up about 8 percent on average. Similarly, Buffalo-area Realtors report that home”
Maybe everyone should do what the song says abd “shuffle on off to Buffalo.”
That, or Hoboken. I hear it is also on fire.
Was in downtown Buffalo a few weeks back.
Ghost town.
Overpriced “urban lofts”, and miles of empty storefront. Many have already gone rental from condo. But at $1,800 a month? Who are they kidding.
If anything was “on fire”, it was the shelter, and only because they were serving supper when we passed.
From CNBC:
US Foreclosures Fall, Bank Repossessions Hit Record High
The national foreclosure rate continued to fall in May from the previous month, according to a new report released Thursday.
However, bank repossessions reached a record high during the same month, a sign that lenders are focusing on their backlog of foreclosure inventory before tackling new distressed loans, according to foreclosure database website RealtyTrac, which released the report.
“What it looks like is that the lenders are focusing on processing the delinquent loans they already have rather than initiating new foreclosures,” said Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac. “They’re managing inventory to prevent a free fall in home prices.”
Grim,
I drove little Shore through downtown Buffalo a couple years ago on the way back from the Falls. It was about 6:00 in the eveining, during the warm months, and we were lookong for someplace to eat. Even down by the baseball stadium there was nothing. It was like a neutron bomb had gone off. It was very disconcerting. The ecening of the Springsteen concert in November was diferent but EVERYONE I met on the streets that night was from out of town.
Grim – How was it in Delaware?
http://www.cnbc.com/id/37609125
“Forget the Economy, the World Cup is Here”
This should keep Clot focused for weeks. For a few weeks, at least, it will be the NJ R/E soccer report I’m guessing.
Sellers in Englewood wake up
I got 1.5i M in csh ready to fork down. Lower your asks already. Soon it will be too late and this sucker will walk
http://www.housingwire.com/2010/06/09/realtytrac-3-8m-homes-to-receive-foreclosure-filing-in-2010
Realty Trac: 3.8m Homes Receive Foreclosure Filings in 2010
35.7% increase from 2009
We went from a steady stream of REO to a trickle and it should go back to a stream. But there will be no tsunami.
LONDON – Short people have a 50 percent higher risk of having a heart problem or dying from one than tall people, a new study says, though weight, blood pressure and smoking habits remain more important factors.
Previous studies have suggested a link between height and heart problems like angina, heart attacks and angioplasties. This is the first major review of such studies, including research from around the world, confirming the relationship.
I’m sure Big Pharma will have a list of preventative drugs to take, if you are Short, regardless of any real factors.
Now for something totally different:
http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=23888&content=39393529&pageNum=-1
Nice Cryptogon one-two punch:
Many Americans Too Broke to File for Bankruptcy
June 9th, 2010
Via: USA Today:
Bankruptcy filings are nearing the record 2 million of 2005, when a new law took effect that was aimed at curbing abuse of the system. Filings could reach 1.7 million this year, says law professor Robert Lawless, but few experts believe that debtors are now gaming the system.
Instead, concern exists about a growing number of Americans who need bankruptcy protection but cannot get any benefit from it or simply cannot afford to file. As their financial problems worsen, that hurts everyone because it can hinder the economic turnaround.
http://cryptogon.com/?p=15866
“Indefinite Incarceration” Over $300 Lumber Yard Debt?
June 10th, 2010
Via: Star Tribune:
You committed no crime, but an officer is knocking on your door. More Minnesotans are surprised to find themselves being locked up over debts.
As a sheriff’s deputy dumped the contents of Joy Uhlmeyer’s purse into a sealed bag, she begged to know why she had just been arrested while driving home to Richfield after an Easter visit with her elderly mother.
No one had an answer. Uhlmeyer spent a sleepless night in a frigid Anoka County holding cell, her hands tucked under her armpits for warmth. Then, handcuffed in a squad car, she was taken to downtown Minneapolis for booking. Finally, after 16 hours in limbo, jail officials fingerprinted Uhlmeyer and explained her offense — missing a court hearing over an unpaid debt. “They have no right to do this to me,” said the 57-year-old patient care advocate, her voice as soft as a whisper. “Not for a stupid credit card.”
http://cryptogon.com/?p=15868
Cindy, why doesn’t anybody assume that some of us walking dead know we ain’t gonna make it very long and are O.K with that fact?
I have always assumed I would die between the ages of 60 and 65.
Rarely do I take even an aspirin.
I live a very happy life.
Grim unmod 14
14 – I hear you Pat. At five- one – I guess I’m not long for this world either.
My twin sister died when we were 32. I have been living on borrowed time for 29 years….
Pretty happy here as well.
I figure I’ll bite the dust on the job. Some second grader will run over and say, “Look, she’s taking a nap.” They will just go about their duties, as instructed….Someone will find me when I don’t show up for my after-school duty.
#7 Grim – You can drive through Buffalo and then on 90 west to Cleveland, Toledo and head up north to Detroit. More of the same and those towns are all going to get hollowed out big time in the next few years.
Yep, the service economy has really picked up where industrial manufacturing left off …
(sarcasm off)
“while prices have held steady at about 20-30 percent below their peak.”
Trillions pissed away and the best this market can accomplish is steady, 20-30% below peak? Putrid.
You can manipulate, print, lie and even set booby traps. You may have short term success in stemming the decline. However, MR Market always ends up first at the finish line. No govt has ever printed their way to prosperity. This time will not be different.
This market is fcuked. The duration of this bear market will go much longer than most can imagine. Sell? Sell to whom? All the idiots have bought, I mean borrowed.
Which will be uglier:
1. The US back four trying to contain Rooney, Lampard and Gerrard running at them (hint: the US defense is anchored by a player who hasn’t played a full game in 7 months)?
2. The NJ RE market in Q3, when short sales and REO become over 50% of the sales mix?
Soccer has come a long way in the US, but I fear we are about to be punked.
England should blow us off the pitch. I also think Algeria and Slovenia are fundamentally better than us.
“2. The NJ RE market in Q3, when short sales and REO become over 50% of the sales mix?”
Doom,
Not a problem. Bank of America has limit offers in, above the market. They have established a floor.
Captain Cheapo once took me on a romantic mystery trip to Buffalo. I think that pretty much says all you need to know.
Two Connecticut real estate agents found a way to profit in the U.S. housing bust: Buy low, sell fast. Their tactic was also illegal.
Sergio Natera and Anna McElaney are scheduled to be sentenced in Hartford’s federal court in August after pleading guilty to fraud. Their crime involved persuading lenders to approve the sale of homes for less than the balance owed — known as a short sale — without disclosing that there were better offers. They then flipped the houses for a profit.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the California Department of Real Estate and mortgage finance company Freddie Mac have warned that such schemes may be spreading after a plunge in values left homeowners owing more than their properties are worth. The scams threaten to deepen losses for lenders that are increasingly agreeing to short sales as an alternative to more costly foreclosures
http://preview.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-10/banks-face-fraud-from-short-sales-as-u-s-home-flopping-schemes-spread.html
Soccer has come a long way in the US, but I fear we are about to be punked.
England should blow us off the pitch. I also think Algeria and Slovenia are fundamentally better than us
Doom,
Enough with the pessimistic rants already. We’re definitively qualifying to the second round and then we could shock the world and beat teh Germans.
This one goes out to Clot and all those other American haters/doubters:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNqUORIFV4I
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/06/paulsongeithner-committed-fraud-in-aig-disclosures/
TBP – The McClatchy AIG link is worth reading. They even mention Elizabeth…
“Paulson/ Geithner Committed Fraud in AIG Disclosures”
Hoboken market in fire this week. 14UC. Just look at the prices.
http://hudson.fnismls.com/publink/default.aspx?GUID=876e773a-4cab-4c17-8002-b789a9395028&Report=Yes
#22 Laughing. Buffalo has been in a death spiral since the St Lawrence Seaway opened. It used to be a thriving city with beautiful country clubs and a vibrant downtown. It no longer has a reason to exist.
Mr Wantan
Not a problem. Bank of America has limit offers in, above the market. They have established a floor.
ROFLMAO!!!!
Whats the going rate for black mold, burst pipes and rotting framing?
“Whats the going rate for black mold, burst pipes and rotting framing?”
Hyde,
But….., they serve cookies at the open house.
Wantan 31
The cookies should go well with the 1970’s kitchen in the POS Bi-level
HE (26)-
Damn you to hell.
Cindy (27)-
What’s a little fraud to two guys who committed extortion (BAC-ML “purchase”) and stood lookout & drove the getaway car at the biggest daylight bank robbery in history?
make (25)-
You should try to confine your glue sniffing to the hours after noon.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/06/09/2010-06-09_albanian_drug_ring_busted.html
The gang started trafficking marijuana in 2003 and had no qualms about robbing its own suppliers or kidnapping a rival drug dealer, authorities said.
Blah Blah Blah…Why is it that albanians get protraid as violent crazy people.
Criminal life is NOT pro bonno work that benefits the communitty.
Never met a drug dealer who devoted a portion of his profits to UNICEF.
WTF?
34 – Clot
My girl Elizabeth just keeps harping away…
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704575304575296822650958544.html
U.S. Faces ‘Severe’ AIG losses, says panel”
Homebokens WC picks (disclaimer, I have been playing soccer for 30 years, but betting on it for only 2 so be prepared to lose money if you follow me)
WC Winner Netherlands 10-1, Spain 4-1
England -1.0 vs USA
Mexico v S. Africa Goals Over 2.0
Group G Winner – Portugal 11-3
Doom,
Your violent side suggest that you may be may some of the crazy albanian genes.
FYI…I’ve been sober for 6 days now!
Make,
robbing its own suppliers
In most cases that is just a bad business practice. Its one thing to rob rivals, but to rob your best suppliers is a bad long term business practice. I’m very disappointed in these guys.
Good stuff.
Pat says:
June 10, 2010 at 12:17 am
Not obstruction. Empire building and/or distaste for contacting investment mgr. for ostensibly administrative advice.
If available, always advise your clients to use transactions systems, not company. If the transactions-based system blocks the request because an active code overrides the most recent term date, have her call during the day and ask for the plan’s client services manager. They’ll be more apt to contact their in-house attorney for an O.K. and just do the transaction without involving the company contact.
make
if i was in that business i would have the customers who robbed me, very publicly executed in a very messy manner. You have to draw the line somewhere.
Pat says:
June 10, 2010 at 8:02 am
Cindy, why doesn’t anybody assume that some of us walking dead know we ain’t gonna make it very long and are O.K with that fact?
I have always assumed I would die between the ages of 60 and 65.
Rarely do I take even an aspirin.
I live a very happy life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NvgLkuEtkA
Hyde,
Suppliers get robbed all the time. Standard business procedure.
If they don’t want to supply to you anymore then you enforce your authority and make them.
remeber, there is no honor amongst thieves and only the strong enforce contracts on the weak.
Media acts like there are rules in being a criminal and Albanians aren’t fit. It’s pathetic.
make: you should see this running e-mail argument I had with the portfolio manager of an Albanian investment fund. I started back before Thanksgiving with Dubai and then the government of Albania announced its sovereign Eurobond deal. I called bullshite and he unloaded on me. When I get to my desk I will post.
Where is my Dow 10,000 hat. I have worn it about 185 times since the year 2000!!!!
I always assumed I would be dead by 35. Multiple car crashes, out on subways at 4am, partying with the wrong folks, Unsafe “vault” activities, heck I once was in a car that did a triple roll over and I was out partying shortly afterwards and almost nailed a tree.
Now I am stuck here alive for what appears to be a long time it is boring, kids, house college, work, retirement, yuck, BTW John Street bar on Thursdays has $10 dollar all you can drink beer from 5pm to 8pm and all the young brooklyn secretaries go there, talking about shooting fish in a barrell.
chicagofinance says:
June 10, 2010 at 9:22 am
Pat says:
June 10, 2010 at 8:02 am
Cindy, why doesn’t anybody assume that some of us walking dead know we ain’t gonna make it very long and are O.K with that fact?
I have always assumed I would die between the ages of 60 and 65.
Chicago – Well!
Pat, did you catch 43?
I wondered when someone would post that…Thanks a lot.
“…Short people got no reason…to live.”
47 – “..talking about shooting fish in a barrel.”
You go jj. Something tells me you are all talk. I mean NOW – not in the “old” days.
What A Teacher Makes
The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.
One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, “What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?”
To stress his point he said to another guest; “You’re a teacher, Bonnie.
Be honest. What do you make?”
Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, “You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began…)
“Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner.
I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can’t make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.
You want to know what I make? (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table)
I make kids wonder.
I make them question.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.
I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn’t everything.
I make them read, read, read.
I make them show all their work in math. They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.
I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity.
I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.
I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of America .
Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.
(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)
Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn’t everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant.” You want to know what I make?
I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr. CEO?”
His jaw dropped, he went silent.
[50] essex
Nice story.
Too bad teaching like that is fast becoming ancient history.
Cindy (37)-
A tale full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
make (39)-
What’s it like?
“FYI…I’ve been sober for 6 days now!”
Anyone recall when I said we’d see protectionism in incremental ways?
Well, Rahm isn’t letting any crisis go to waste . . .
http://www.cnbc.com/id/37606053
When I read betweeen the lines, I get that there is a pattern of (1) marginalizing foreign companies, (2) using new tactics to create more “rights” at the expense of business, and (3) trying to erect more barriers to entry.
First Toyota, now BP, next will be a Chinese company (remember CNOOC and CFIUS?)
50-
I make guranteed raises every year regardless of my performance. Private sector – No
I make it impossible to be fired or laid off from my job, regardless of my performance. Private sector – No
I make zero contribution to my healthcare costs, which I receive for life. Private sector – No
I make a state funded pension. Private sector – No
I make it to work 180 days out of the year. Private sector – 250 days of work.
I make guranteed raises every year regardless of my performance. Private sector – No
Are you aware of a place called “Wall Street” ??
Around me it appears that prices are dropping quickly. The home I rent (3br/2.5b) was purchased in 2006 for $415,000. 2 houses on the street now for sale under $400,00. A 5 bedroom and this 4 bedroom http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/36-Princeton-Pines-Pl_Brick_NJ_08724_1119228536 . If it weren’t for my ridiculous commute, I’d think about starting to look again. Save the Brick bashing please.
“her offense missing a court hearing over an unpaid debt. They have no right to do this to me”
Well, in fact, they can do that to her. She has not been jailed for her debt, she has been jailed for ignoring the order to appear before the judge. Don’t ever mess with a judge. Ever.
” Save the Brick bashing please.”
Indeed. It is hardly sporting to pick on the place.
Teachers like Cindy are part of an ever-shrinking minority.
Here are some of the words my daughter used this year to describe her “National Blue Ribbon HS” teachers (yes, she is a good student):
-lazy (easily the #1 word)
-incompetent
-ignorant
-stupid
-clueless
-fat
-sloppy
-brain-dead
-dishonest
-medicated
-delusional
The US car market sucks! can we get one of these over here already? I would buy it in a second!
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:CoyXFeN–z0J:www.greencar.com/articles/audi-a4-tdie-clean-diesel-bests-prius-combined-51-mpg.php+audi+diesel+conversion&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
I have a bi-polar relationship with audi
Clot,
Other than that, how is the school?
Today is the last day of HS here. My daughter’s HONORS English teacher entered the school building three times all year.
After the first month of school, a first-year teacher was hired to mind the class and ferry written work from school to the teacher’s home for grading.
Most amazing, the missing teacher was voted in December as the district’s 2009 teacher of the year!!!!
“Most amazing, the missing teacher was voted in December as the district’s 2009 teacher of the year!!!!”
Who votes? The other teachers?
My daughter’s HONORS English teacher entered the school building three times all year.
Doom:
What was the reason that the teacher only made 3 appearances at the school?
In my school district the only thing teacher makes sure they give birth during school year so they don’t get screwed out of maternity leave.
But that is easy as they are off all summer at beach screwing the fireman/cop husbands and a late june/early july conception gurantees a spring baby and my town paying one teacher to sit home and another to sub for her.
Shore (63)-
It sucks. There are probably prisons that offer more in the way of learning and opportunity.
The big plus is that the students, in general, are terrific. Our area hasn’t broken down economically or socially to the point where a majority of families have ceased raising their kids well…although I can see that point coming.
shocker
“Deustche Bank has revealed a short position in European sovereign debt worth €2 billion ($2.4 billion), focused on Spanish and Portuguese sovereign debt, according to The Telegraph. The Spanish short is worth £900 million ($1.315 billion) while the Portuguese short is worth £660 million ($963 million). The news only adds to worries over the state of the Spanish economy.”
hype (66)-
The cow had fork-to-mouth disease. After hitting about 320 lbs (my daughter’s guess), she had her stomach stapled, and something went awry.
My guess is that she tried to test the staples with a diet of Big Macs, bacon-sour cream Ruffles and liters of Pepsi, as on one of the days she actually made it to class, my daughter remarked that she seemed not to have lost any weight.
I had a grade school teacher tell me that she was getting pregnant so she would miss the year she’d have to have me in her class.
Bitch.
Clot (70):
You may be paying her permanent long-term diability soon if she continues on her Big Mac Attack eating program.
Yeah, Hype; I’d better get to work. Lots of parasites to feed here.
[71] clot
Amazing. After all, you are so much fun to be around. Can’t imagine why she would want to miss your cheery disposition.
/sarc off
make: my uncle gave me some brandy over the weekend….is this stuff any good, I haven’t cracked it open yet…
http://konjakskenderbeu.al/?fq=nen-produkt&art=konjak&p=1&k=kemba&gj=en
make money says:
June 10, 2010 at 9:15 am
Doom,
Your violent side suggest that you may be may some of the crazy albanian genes.
FYI…I’ve been sober for 6 days now!
In about 2 hours, I interview for a volunteer position with a group called the Taxpayer Advisory Panel. No idea if I will get on the panel as there are apparently quotas, and I don’t qualify as a quota recipient.
For volunteer work, it is something of a lift, but it will be informative and educational, so there is a benefit.
The benefit for all of you is that you get to b1tch to me about the IRS and it actually goes somewhere!!!
I think it strains credulity that such comments would be made by your progeny…..
Final Doom says:
June 10, 2010 at 10:17 am
Teachers like Cindy are part of an ever-shrinking minority.
Here are some of the words my daughter used this year to describe her “National Blue Ribbon HS” teachers (yes, she is a good student):
-lazy (easily the #1 word)
-incompetent
-ignorant
-stupid
-clueless
-fat
-sloppy
-brain-dead
-dishonest
-medicated
-delusional
Doom
The Nigeria V Germany Soccer match:
http://i.imgur.com/zBOSA.jpg
oops
Is 10 yr Laphroaig any good?
My standard gulp is Johnny Blue… (I love it.) So I’m not sure if I’ll like it. (It was a gift.)
sl
You cannot compare private sector work to public sector jobs.
Anyone who does has very little understanding of business.
78 Thanks for the LOL, Hyde,
Whoopsy on that one, huh?
sl
still_looking says:
June 10, 2010 at 11:05 am
Is 10 yr Laphroaig any good?
My standard gulp is Johnny Blue… (I love it.) So I’m not sure if I’ll like it. (It was a gift.)sl
still: you’ll hate it; don’t open it; let me know where I can drive to pick it up; thank you in advance….
Public sector work is so completely different than the private sector from the mindset of the employee (unions) to the compensations (no incentives).
I am not sure if you can introduce any best practices from the private sector or if it even matters. No one cared what teachers made when everyone was rolling in bonuses, stock options, and easy credit.
Amazing to me that ‘now’ teachers are over compensated. It is completely laughable.
Bottom line is that you get exactly what you pay for….every time!
Essex
..market rates. The taxes needed to support the going rate for teachers was fine when everyones income was increasing. people were generally of with the % cost to them. That % cost has noticeably increased as the private sector incomes have dropped and unemployment has become high.
The cost has now exceeded what people are willing to pay as a % of their income. if everyone one except for a select group sees their income drop, then that select group has effectively gotten a pay raise from everyone else’s point of view.
Im not saying teachers are over-compensated, I am saying that they don’t know how good they have it.
The grass is always I greener I suppose.
goodbye, chevy
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/10/automobiles/10chevy.html?hp
“Bottom line is that you get exactly what you pay for .every time”
Only accross products, not within products.
Yes, if I pay for a Rolls instead of a Chevy, I get abetter product. But, if I buy a Chevy, and pay the same amount as I would pay for a Rolls, I get no better a product.
Maybe someone can find a link to post. Someone just showed me a Ziggy cartoon (not something I read) and it shows a sign in the dirt that says: Future site of an abandoned building.
New Jersey Towns Raising Taxes Above Christie’s Proposed Cap
Robbinsville, the central New Jersey town where Governor Chris Christie appeared last week to promote his plan to cap annual property-tax increases at 2.5 percent, won approval yesterday to raise its tax bills by 29 percent.
More at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ayyhV0x7xKVA&pos=9
Interesting politics in SC. Perhaps we need to scratch SC off the list of beach-house locations.
http://wap.cbsnews.com/site?t=SXMJKQ–KmYpN-H0h5RWQQ&sid=cbsnews
On my blackberry in a plane in god awfully got puerto Rico. Drinking scotch in first class
Maky it quick
Gator was Hartford not available?
Hyde the day that audi comes to the states is the day we trade in our avant
Play nice the door is closing
This strikes me as clot’s idea of a rogue trader….
http://www.cnbc.com/id/37560147?slide=9
Young was accused of a £220 million ($317 million) fraud, but eventually was found unfit to stand trial after he tried to castrate himself to fulfil his “passion” to become a woman.
“Captain Cheapo once took me on a romantic mystery trip to Buffalo. I think that pretty much says all you need to know.”
+1
“Gator was Hartford not available?”
Ouch!
Gator, you have a real romantic guy there. I trust you have “schooled” him since then.
“Gator was Hartford not available?”
Ouch!
Gator, you have a real romantic guy there. I trust you have “schooled” him since then.
Captain Cheapo…
The name never fails to crack me up. :)
sl
Whoo hoo… market up, rally on! Recession over, right?
:)
sl
173 (prior post): BC,
“Unsustainable” – I guess that’s what they say when they’re out of bullets.
what recession?
@57 –
Nice ghoul of a realtor.
“Bottom line is that you get exactly what you pay for….every time!”
How does your statement above square with the Abbott schools where we are figuratively pouring money down the drain for failing results?
103.
Abbot district’s poor performance is a result of abysmal “parenting,” if you can call it that.
I have a kid in an Abbot, the teachers and support staff are excellent. He does well.
What Gator fails to tell you are the highlights of the trip and it’s real purpose.
Besides seeing the falls when no one else was there (I think it was November), we also took a side trip up to the Niagara Power Company Hydroelectric Plant which happened to be closed for upgrades. Dreamy! We did see a Sabres game at their then brand new arena and Buffalo won. It was then followed up by a luxurious stay in a $29 per night Microtel that was decorated in the Quagmire style. There were mirrors and cushions everywhere. We did drive up to Toronto to view the Hockey Hall of Fame, get vege dogs from a street vendor and to check out the old Maple Leaf Gardens. See, I’m not so bad.
The reason we had to take a mystery trip was because we both needed about 1,000 more frequent flier miles to make elite on Continental and we had to wait for them to release their last minute specials. I think the airfare was like $49. Back then, if you knew how to work the free upgrade system (and boy did we work it), you would fly first class on virtually every flight (except to Vegas which always booked up) for the same price as coach. Gator and I traveled a lot for work those days, so the mystery trip was never meant to be a honey moon. Gator left out the finer details. I guess she pulled a Jamil.
Barbara is correct. They should make the parents go to school with the children.
“what recession?”
JJ,
If you took your head out of your arse you would realize that private payroll growth is non existent, consumer credit is falling off a cliff, hourly wages are stagnant and mortgage apps have fallen to a 13 year low.
Dress rehearsal?
And for those keeping track of Montclair, Governor Chunkybutt approved Montclair’s tax cap waiver. Yay!
Barb 104.
That sounds racist to me. We all know Abbott districts are primarily minority populations and now you claim that the problem is parenting? So now we can say they arent productive and that they dont know how to parent right? Why dont you just come out and say it already barb?
Do you have a problem with this barbara?
http://i.imgur.com/X3EB1.png
I lived in Jersey City for a while. My neighbors were Section 8. Both parents didn’t work. When I noticed that their 6-year old (who took a liking to me and our piano) never went to school, I decided to ask them why. They said, “Mind your own business. He doesn’t need to go to school. We didn’t either and look how well we are doing.”
I know it’s anecdotal, but this cycle will not be broken easily, regardless of how many of my tax dollars goes to their school district.
Lib,
I agree, the parents are the issue. There have been some trial programs that basically sent the parents to night school to learn how to teach their children. All of the children’s performance skyrocketed as a result.
The parents are broken, not the kids.
Stu,
During one of his Great Society addresses, LBJ actually pointed to poor home life/parenting as the biggest hurdle preventing the pooe fromadvancing socially, educationally, and financially.
“you would realize that private payroll growth is non existent”
Don’t be overdramatic. Almost 5% of the jobs created in recent months are private-sector jobs. Many of these were good service-economy positions.
Don’t be so gloomy.
Cindy,
From JPM:
Here’s a dynamic that Greece would envy: all California has to do is set spending equal to population growth plus
inflation, and it would have a balanced budget. But during the last 3 administrations, California didn’t come close3:
• The state pays 100% of health care costs for retired state workers and 90% of costs for spouses and dependents
• Since 1990, state/local employment growth rose 33% faster than population growth
• State/local salaries are generally 44% higher than private sector counterparts
• State spending increases took place on the back of a highly concentrated tax base, increasing the risk of a budget shortfall
during a recession. In 2007, 1% of Californians paid 81% of all capital gains taxes
• Retroactive pension increases in 1999 proposed by CalPERS and signed into law by Governor Davis required no increase in
upfront contributions, and left the State on the hook for pension shortfalls
83.Essex says:
June 10, 2010 at 11:12 am
Public sector work is so completely different than the private sector from the mindset of the employee (unions) to the compensations (no incentives).
I am not sure if you can introduce any best practices from the private sector or if it even matters. No one cared what teachers made when everyone was rolling in bonuses, stock options, and easy credit.
Amazing to me that ‘now’ teachers are over compensated. It is completely laughable
No one cared what teachers made when everyone was rolling in bonuses, stock options, and easy credit.
Who is this “everyone” in the private sector rolling in bonuses, stock options & easy credit? That is an incorrect and absurd statement.
Ket,
I wonder if there is any legal reason why the USG can’t kneecap really bad parents?
Lets me use my friend as an example as how all of these things are mentioned are things.
My friend who is married with kids had a working wife who was was pestering him to death to get a big trade up house with a huge mortgage and she shopped till she dropped and ran up credit card debt, he was being choked by the rate charged to him by lawn service, day care, maids and nannies.
Now his wife lost her job, no more talk of trade up house, she stays home his house is clean, has a nice dinner on table, wife had to stop spending and running up credit card debt and he was able to get better pricing on his lawn service and baby sitter as hourly wages are down. He is happy, can now afford some nights out to dinner and his weekend is not crazy running errands cause wife has time to do that stuff during the week and his kids are doing much better in school as wife is home to help with homework.
Unemployment, hourly salaries falling, less consumer credit and less mortgage applications baically saved his marriage and he is a happy camper.
Mr Wantanapolous says:
June 10, 2010 at 1:09 pm
“what recession?”
JJ,
If you took your head out of your arse you would realize that private payroll growth is non existent, consumer credit is falling off a cliff, hourly wages are stagnant and mortgage apps have fallen to a 13 year low.
Dress rehearsal?
[113] shore
“If you want to be rich, choose your parents carefully.”
Attributed sometimes to Mark Twain
(and if not him, then Nom Deplume).
And this one just seems timely. . .
“In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards.”
Mark Twain.
[117] shore
I wonder if there is any legal reason why the USG can’t kneecap really bad parents?
Several, I think.
But the real problem is political. Really bad parents vote.
Didn’t know Barry could Rap too.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/06/10/2010-06-10_whoops_thats_not_bam.html
109. Hyde
where did I use a euphemism in that post? My argument was with euphemisms, not sentiment. Go back to solving the oil spill, k?
BC,
Maybe Bruce can do a follow-up to Johnny 99. He can call it Johnny Under Water.
Or Downbound Dow, is another possibility.
I had three houses
I had six cars
I had a big old Hog
With chrome handlebars.
I bought it all
Going deep into hock
Cause I didn’t make much
Down at the parkin’ lot
Thought I was entitled to live
The American Dream
Of Buying everything
That I seen
And the bank lent me the money
I couldn’t repay no how
And now I’m getting crushed
By a downbound dow
“she stays home his house is clean, has a nice dinner on table, wife had to stop spending and running up credit card debt”
JJ,
LMFAO. Yet, where’s the recession?
“Several, I think”
Spoilsport.
Barb,
You claim that using the term “unrpoductive” is racist because the areas referenced were largely minority groups, yet saying that abbot district parents cant teach their children is somehow less racists using your logic?
Nom,
To quote George Bush, “This Constitution thing gets in the way of all the really good ideas.”
Shore [124],
Come to think of it, was Magic named for FASB?
“You claim that using the term unrpoductive is racist because the areas referenced were largely minority groups”
Unproductive people come from all races and every ethnicity. Just because someone points to an unproductive white guy and describes him as unproductive or as a drain on society does not make the comment racist, whether the commentator is white, black, asian, or whatever
If the unproductive person does not like beinf described that way he can, say it with me now, become productive..
The sun is about to get a lot more active, which could have ill effects on Earth. So to prepare, top sun scientists met Tuesday to discuss the best ways to protect Earth’s satellites and other vital systems from the coming solar storms.
Solar storms occur when sunspots on our star erupt and spew out flumes of charged particles that can damage power systems. The sun’s activity typically follows an 11-year cycle, and it looks to be coming out of a slump and gearing up for an active period.
“The sun is waking up from a deep slumber, and in the next few years we expect to see much higher levels of solar activity,” said Richard Fisher, head of NASA’s Heliophysics Division. “At the same time, our technological society has developed an unprecedented sensitivity to solar storms. The intersection of these two issues is what we’re getting together to discuss.”
Fisher and other experts met at the Space Weather Enterprise Forum, which took place in Washington, D.C., at the National Press Club.
Bad news for gizmos
People of the 21st century rely on high-tech systems for the basics of daily life. But smart power grids, GPS navigation, air travel, financial services and emergency radio communications can all be knocked out by intense solar activity.
A major solar storm could cause twenty times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina, warned the National Academy of Sciences in a 2008 report, “Severe Space Weather Events—Societal and Economic Impacts.” [Photos: Sun storms.]
Luckily, much of the damage can be mitigated if managers know a storm is coming. That’s why better understanding of solar weather, and the ability to give advance warning, is especially important.
Putting satellites in ‘safe mode’ and disconnecting transformers can protect electronics from damaging electrical surges.
Ket,
It might have been.
Mansion on the Hill
My Father’d house
My Hometown
Shut Out the Light
Streets of Fire
The Price you Pay
All have possibilities for describing issues of today.
Hyde,
“unproductive” was only one of many. Abbots are largely minority. Broken homes or single parent homes in financial distress are the norm in Abbot districts. Some people in Abbots are unproductive, and some work very hard for little pay (fast food is probably one the most stressful jobs out there outside of emergency support) but the results are the same: little time, supervision and money for the kids. No euphemisms. No hate, no exploitive and ugly pics from the internets.
Confused 131 – Was discussing the solar activity with 22 year old (in college) cousin. His response was “I don’t use my lap-top outside so what difference does it make.”
chi (75)-
You can also strip furniture with it.
“my uncle gave me some brandy over the weekend….is this stuff any good..”
“Abbots are largely minority. Broken homes or single parent homes in financial distress are the norm in Abbot districts. Some people in Abbots are unproductive, and some work very hard for little pay (fast food is probably one the most stressful jobs out there outside of emergency support) but the results are the same: little time, supervision and money for the kids. No euphemisms. No hate, no exploitive and ugly pics from the internets.”
Then we agree perhaps that throwing vast sums in the form of education chits is perhaps not the best use of funds imaginable.
Boken
He must have a faraday cage built into his house.
My parents were very proud of me when I graduated from Brookyln Technical High School & Long Island University, as their formal education was Elementary School. I can’t remember anyone’s parents helping their kids with school work in the 50’s or 60’s. School was your job. You paid attention, did your home work & studied, on your own. You were raised to have those expectations & responsibilities. With my children I did provide selective help. Primarily because I don’t believe they were getting the level of formal teaching support in NJ in the 80’s, which was available to me in NY in the 60’s. They were also sucessfull. Given that my Brooklyn Neighborhood was Blue Collar with low income, in modern NJ venacular it would be declared an Abbott District. Yet amazingly, most kids learned, suceeded and became productive, without extroardinary outlays of cash and support. It was their JOB.
Boken,
or perhaps he painted the inside walls with this:
http://emsectechnologies.com/press_releases/press1.php
[103, 104] meter, barbara
“How does your statement above square with the Abbott schools where we are figuratively pouring money down the drain for failing results?
Barbara says:
Abbot district’s poor performance is a result of abysmal “parenting,” if you can call it that.”
That is the best argument yet for ending the Abbott gravy train.
Yo Working Lady
You lost your job, now Clean those Dishes
You ain’t gettin your Wishes
No fancy car, no big fat wallets
Now you just bustin you rump and feelin like you were hit with bunch of mallets
Hubby come home all happy as a clam
House is clean dinner, warmin in the oven, he don’t give a sh#t bout your career cause you bout to give him some lovin
No more damm Credit cards or expense account
you can’t say a word cause now you got no cash
Betta not get too fat or you be out on your As$
Cause bit$h you ain’t no longer working class
meter,
I have friends who work in Newark schools, middle school grades. They are very liberal and true believers. They will also be the first to tell you that not another dime of budget should be spent on these schools and that its mostly what happens at home that determines what happens in the classroom. They are on the younger side of tenured now.
[139] hyde
We can buy paint like that to block microwaves and lower our exposure to EM. It is ridiculously expensive though, so you would probably want to use it only on walls facing sources.
Or, if you are one of the board’s paranoiacs, use it on the ceilings so the CIA can’t beam signals into your head. Then you can ditch the tin foil hat.
Okay, gotta support the Abbott titsuckers now.
[141] jj
Nice rap (cue eyeroll!)
Stick to your day jobs of bond trading and admiring yourself in mirrors.
Now I am back to work. Really. Peace out.
138 Confused.
I was also never offered help or given help growing up and I did ok in school, however, the material my son (and my older nephews) bring home is beyond what I remember doing at the same grade level. Good or bad, they move them through faster. I can’t account for this, is it because new information (maybe technology) is introduced earlier where we had none of it? Is it ultimately better or worse? Not sure but I know I could not have done about 40% of my son’s homework on my own at the same age/grade.
We need to spark up a big-ass, old-fashioned shooting war and get these damn Newark/JC kids overseas, shot and killed.
Thin out the damn population. It’s our only chance.
My judge buddy tells me every court session now features 1-2 defendants with a recruitment officer by their side, asking that he not sentence them to 60-90 days, since the defendants have recently enlisted for military service and are urgently needed.
Didn’t the Roman Empire also conscript criminals? Those SOBs had some good ideas.
I don’t know if I mentioned this but I met a guy from Lockheed Martin and he said “Solar flares are going to peak in 2012 and it is going to be a big problem.”
I pretty much called him out and asked him to reveal his sources to which he started back-tracking quickly and said “I can’t tell you but I just know”
My take away is that there are communications/defense/gps satalites that are being effected by these solar storms. They have noticed a drop in storm activity and historically they always see a swell of activity after a lull.
As for being concerned about solar activity you really should be concerned because the sun is like a giant EMF bomb when a solar flare goes off. The magnetic sheilding of the earth causes most of it to be distorted around the earth where it is channeled. They call those channels the northern and southern lights. The rest of the energy becomes a noise floor for the rest of our wireless systems.
We will see temporary losses of all satelites as well as a degredation of communication range on wireless equipment. To name a few of the technologies that will be effected: GPS, Wi-Fi, CDMA, GSM, WiMAX, LTE, DirectTV, Radio Relay…etc.
Pretty much everything you use that transmits wirelessly will be impacted in some way or another. Engineers may be able to boost transmitted power from the towers but from a mobile device it may not be able to boost power high enough to reach back to the tower. Satellites will be offline for the duration of the solar flare which can last for 25 mins (5 min average rise time, 18 min average decay time).
I think that kid with his laptop is prety short sighted. It will mean a big impact for wireless technologies which are set to become more important than ever before. Ipad and Iphone 4G come to mind.
barb (146)-
For the amount of money NJ is hemmorrhaging into your district, your kid should already be in Mensa and working on a cold fusion reactor design.
149. Doom
oh the stories I could tell…..sharkskin suits, pinky rings…free cars…administration HEAVY.
Not to mention that space exploration becomes very hazardous when the sun is at a peak in emissions.
Strong solar flares force astronauts into a protected part of the space station.
Barb (150)-
I can only imagine. I quit the foundation at the county Vo-Tech when I finally realized the teachers and admins didn’t give a rat’s arse about the kids.
Lots of retirement parties, testimonial dinners, “green” handshakes and gutter politics around that school, though.
I remember attending a small ed summit at a local hotel back when I was politically involved. I was looked upon with suspicion, was asked three times why I was there by the main speaker and when I realized I was at nothing more then a union meeting and got up to leave, was shammed into putting down 10 dollars for my diet coke (plus tip!) by the main speaker who stopped talking two times to *make sure* I paid my share (I thought 3 bux would have covered it). Azzhole.
shamed even, well shammed too
We should stuff criminals into one-way rockets into space.
Nick
I wonder if any of the newer highly computerized cars might run into problems during a strong solar storm….. Drive by wire could get very interesting if thats the case, as we both know that auto manufacturers dont design the systems as you would “mission critical” systems.
funny that teachers have such a self important view of themselves. must are baby-sitters or day care at best.
“While the crash only took place six months ago, I am convinced we have now passed through the worst – and with continued unity of effort we shall rapidly recover. There has been no significant bank or industrial failure. That danger, too, is safely behind us.” – Herbert Hoover, President of the United States, May 1, 1930
“All safe deposit boxes in banks or financial institutions have been sealed…and may only be opened in the presence of an agent of the IRS.” – President F.D. Roosevelt, 1933
Perhaps Abbott Districts would do well to open residential schools. It would at least allow for a safe environment 24 hours a day. Heck, if it okay for the walthy kids at Andover, etc., it might be worth it.
Essex (50),
What a pathetic story, probably one most popular with and swapped amongst overpaid public sector unionized teachers with an income inferiority complex hoping to boost their self-esteem. Thanks for sharing.
Do teachers really think that CEO’s don’t “make a difference in the world”? Fine, they can just keep watching movies like “The Graduate” and sneer at the people paying the education bills. I guess Edison didn’t make a difference in the world, nor did Ford, or Steve Jobs?
I have no problem with teachers. I admire many of them, and the work they do. I’ve hired many to educate both myself and my kid. What I have a problem with is a state-controlled school system that nearly monopolizes education, and grants massive political power to teachers unions, who use that to put a boot on the throat of innovation, meritocracy, and markets in education.
June 10 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved rules that will halt trading in Standard & Poor’s 500 Index stocks during periods of volatility, a response to the May 6 plunge that wiped out $862 billion in 20 minutes.
The circuit-breaker test, scheduled to last through Dec. 10, will pause trading for five minutes when a company rises or falls 10 percent in five minutes or less. The New York Stock Exchange said it will begin implementing the curbs tomorrow. The regulator delayed the start of the pilot program last week
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a2n9_TUtiP_Q&pos=3
Electrical wiring has shielding to prevent bleed onto the wire. Normally that shielding is enough to counter the sun’s effect.
It would have to be one mother of a storm in order to effect a vehicle like that unless the vehicle is using wireless technologies.
160. Whatever dude. It’s a story. designed for reaction. If you don’t think that most CEOs are way overpaid and many take golden parachutes (Carly Fiorina for One) after decimating the firm, you are uninformed.
116. Private sector rewards, when times were good — could be extraordinary.
Even in bad times — bonuses and stock options are pretty darn attractive.
I think this Onion story captures another aspect of what’s wrong with education:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/rywanda-think-she-so-goddamn-smart-ever-since-grad,17580/
That’s so awesome, I’m surprised the author isn’t put in PC jail just for thinking it.
60. High School is a pretty good time to find a really good private school. Most high schools suck.
A west]
http://www.creepygif.com/image.php?i=10
sx (166)-
Private schools out by me start at about 25K for the lower-tier ones.
Little rich for my blood.
I guess I would consider private school…if I weren’t puking up 22K/year in property taxes between my house and office bldg.
underwater oil video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGX7krQYI_4
169. I know right?! That’s what’ll drive ‘us’ and others like us from Essex County without a doubt. I got an elementary school ager….kindergartner! Yeah baby! I think she had a great year.
168. No doubt. It’s about a bonus for us each year. So if you way OK, spending on that is fine with me.
say OK. not Way Ok, in you say OK, I am willing to invest in Education if I see a value. Right now if we pay the cars off we’ll save $1300 a month.
173. Essex
but eventually, you’ll need new cars. Its dicey, if I send my kids to private, they need to stay private for 12 years. I would feel very guilty taking them away from friends and throwing them into public say, five years into their schooling. You need wide margins imo to send to private, nonreligious.
Shore Guy :91
That link in your 91 came up empty. I was wondering what facet of SC Politics you found interesting ?
Was it the mud-slinging ? Muck-raking ?
Silly people , you know Essex’s wife is a teacher. You all keep falling for his lines. He will argue with you until the cows come home , just so he can keep those Gold Plated Benefits.
only teachers I like are the ones from when I was a kid and reading Forum magazine, I never had any teachers like that but if they exist they are earning every penny of their 200K salary.
Ah Jimmy. Come on man. Look. I’m early forties. Seriously not really that concerned with retirement right this second. Got a lot more on my mind. GeezoP.
BTW. Inflation will deflate anything resembling a small nest egg. The future belongs to the rich. Get there or get cucked.
174. cars’ll run forever today with the proper maintenance.
My problem is that I get bored with a car. Or just bored and end up trading em. Perfectly great cars with 40k miles and lots of life. I am DONE doing that (he said)
I was actually oggling a 135 series with the M trim pack. Paddle shifters. Sedan. Not sure I like the high roof. Cornering is dicey I understand. Not like John’s 5 series…no siree.
I just wish I weren’t sending my kids out the door every day to have their heads jammed full of shit.
Because every night, I have to pump all that crap out of their heads.
Then again, this is how you create a welfare state.
You ain’t a pimp and you ain’t a hustler
A pimp’s got a Cadi and a lady’s got a Chrysler
Black’s got respect, and white’s got his soul train
Mama’s got cramps, and look at your hands shake
I heard the news today, oh boy
I got a suite and you got defeat
Ain’t there a man you can say no more?
And, ain’t there a woman I can sock on the jaw?
And, ain’t there a child I can hold without judging?
Ain’t there a pen that will write before they die?
Ain’t you proud that you’ve still got faces?
Ain’t there one damn song that can make me
break down and cry
To anyone familiar w/ the Newport, RI area. Is staying in Jamestown or Middletow an option? During the time in question, lots of the bigger places already booked. Also channeling my inner Captain Cheapo. Any general tips? Thanks.
NJ is a welfare state. has been for many years, problem now , no money left.
someone , turn off the lights.
Rahm must be rubbing his hands together with glee . . .
“According to China Daily, the state-run paper that is widely regarded as the government’s English language mouthpiece, Beijing is ordering local officials to adhere to a new “made in China” policy when buying anything.
“Under the draft regulation,” the newspaper reported earlier this month, “the priority for government procurement would be on domestic products.
If domestic products cannot meet the criteria for local content, purchasers should give priority to foreign products assembled in China.” China Daily estimates the Chinese government spent about 700 billion yuan ($102.5 billion) last year on goods and services, a good chunk of it imported.
Washington considers the policy pure protectionism.”
/snip
This is a fraction of the economy most likely, but it has the potential to touch off a trade war.
Something this administration would love, protestations to the contrary notwithstanding.
Here we go again.
Lawmakers consider home tax credit extension
Alan Zibel, AP Real Estate Writer, On Thursday
WASHINGTON (AP) — Homebuyers may get an extra three months to finish qualifying for federal tax incentives that boosted home sales this spring.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday he wants to give buyers until Sept. 30 to complete their purchases and qualify for tax credits of up to $8,000. Under the current terms, buyers had until April 30 to get a signed sales contract and until June 30 to complete the sale.
The proposal would only allow people who already have signed contracts to finish at the later date. The National Association of Realtors estimates that about 180,000 homebuyers who already signed purchase agreements are likely to miss the deadline.
[185] relo
Middletown is okay, nothing special.
Jamestown is across the bay. I don’t recall how bad that bridge gets, but Newport area traditionally has bad traffic, so I would not want to be in Jamestown if I had to be in Newport.
Seriosuly. With the amt of property taxes people pay in nj, why even bother with private schooling?
Might as well move into an area with a good school district.
Btw, I have yet to see really any smart kids come out of private primary schools in nj.
I was actually oggling a 135 series with the M trim pack.
Very nice car, test drove a CPO coupe two weeks back. Was very surprised that I didn’t feel out of place in it (I’m 6’2 200lbs).
Seems that Dear Leader is getting some smack from across the pond. This is an open letter from the CEO of a UK insurance co.
“Dear President Obama
Please forgive this open letter but your comments towards BP and its CEO as reported here are coming across as somewhat prejudicial and personal.
There is no doubt that BP, as a UK PLC, is totally committed to do everything possible to contain the oil leak and meet all its obligations in the USA. The existing CEO is the best person to deliver that effort and has made that personal commitment and made himself
available in the USA. In your words, “he has taken the heat” and not hidden in his office. The real response has been total. You could argue a poor PR performance, but BP are not
alone in that.
There is a sense here that these attacks are being made because BP is British. If you compare the damage inflicted on the economies of the western world by polluted securities from the irresponsible, unchecked greed and avarice of leading USA international banks, there has not been the same personalised response in or from
countries beyond the US. Perhaps a case of double standards? Deep sea oil exploration was pushed forward as part of a USA oil security strategy as have a number of foreign policy initiatives in key areas in the world where we are standing shoulder to shoulder.
Whilst we all recognise the seriousness of the situation there is a need to put some balance back into the situation. Many of us applauded your promise of a new approach to politics, USA foreign policy and world leadership. Both you and the CEO of BP are caught up in the resolution of issues dealing with the emerging risks of strategies that you
did not necessarily determine. The immediate issues are very challenging but are best solved working together in a more Statesman like way. The leak may take time to fix, and it will be, but Afghanistan and Iraq will take much longer.
We can all agree that the first and absolute priority is to stem the leak. Perhaps the second one is to ensure the reputation of the Presidency outside the USA is seen as objective, balanced, able and capable of taking the heat when under pressure.
We liked the Obama we saw at your election, can we have more of it please.
Yours sincerely,
John Napier”
I like how he layeth the smackdown in the 2nd paragraph.
“Very nice car, test drove a CPO coupe two weeks back. Was very surprised that I didn’t feel out of place in it (I’m 6′2 200lbs).”
this blog is comprised of giant men and midget ladies. *braces for JJ jokes*
Bojangles is the lackey of banksters and BP. Any tough pronouncements he makes are for the purpose of buying votes and/or creating diversion, behind which his criminal backers can continue raping our country and the planet.
barb (193)-
If it were midget men and giant ladies, we’d be in Albania.
sas3 says:
June 9, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Estate Tax Loop Hole:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/09/business/09estate.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
i clicked on that giddy and eager …. hardly a loophole. more like a 1-time screw up.
[196] yikes,
Until now, no one heard of this guy. But NYT is trying to make him the poster child for the lack of an estate tax.
After all, how dare he die and cheat the proletariat out of their due?
I think that this is my favorite Hayek quote:
“However human, envy is certainly not one of the sources of discontent that a free society can eliminate. It is probably one of the essential conditions for the preservation of such a society that we do not countenance envy, not sanction its demands by camouflaging it as social justice, but treat it, in the words of John Stuart Mill, as “the most anti-social and evil of all passions.”
NY in trouble?
Chaos, Anarchy To Reign If Paterson Shuts Down NY
Monday Could Be Doomsday If Budget Deal Can’t Be Reached
Shutdown Would Mean Closing Of State Parks, DMV, Courts, N.Y. Lottery
http://wcbstv.com/politics/nys.goverment.shutdown.2.1745114.html
#192 Nom
John Napier has a lot of balls coming out with that. His greenhouse must be out of windows.
Where to start. Wiki has a nice summary of RSA.
“It was formerly also listed on the NYSE: in late 2006 it was delisted from the NYSE due to the sale of all of its United States operations, in a large part due to its refusal to pay its obligation of US$250 Million for the World Trade Center and US$500 Million owed to General Motors from asbestos-related claims”
Going back in time they were at the forefront of misselling Endowment mortgages and also a massive pension selling scandal.
Nom, $2B tax revenue… gone! Though, it will support us only for a couple of days in Iraq and Afghanistan.
S
grim says:
June 10, 2010 at 6:32 am
Was in downtown Buffalo a few weeks back.
Ghost town.
wouldn’t live in Buffalo if you paid me 200k a year. hell, 300k might not do it. not with that crappy, long winter, and the isolation.
you’re HOURS from driving to any major metro area.
195. Doom
“barb (193)-
If it were midget men and giant ladies, we’d be in Albania.”
or a dirty jersey carnival.
grim says:
June 10, 2010 at 6:43 pm
I didn’t feel out of place in it (I’m 6′2 200lbs).
grim: how much weight do you lose if you shave your entire body…..
Grim is this Wyckoff house in the MLS at 1.9Mil. I remeber it came up last year a comp killer at $560K. The bank gave up a boat load on 457 across the street.
This Single-Family Home located at 456 Carlton Road, Wyckoff NJ sold for $1,900,000 on Feb 2, 2010. The property was built in 1955. This property previously sold for $1,900,000 on Feb 2, 2010, $920,000 on Dec 22, 2006, and $872,000 on Nov 15, 2005.
Nom…but there is no step up in basis, so these fcukers are still going to get their chunk of change….and even with a modicum of tax planning, most of the kids are avoiding taxes anyway….useless and specious article….pure shite….
Comrade Nom Deplume says:
June 10, 2010 at 7:47 pm
[196] yikes,
Until now, no one heard of this guy. But NYT is trying to make him the poster child for the lack of an estate tax.
After all, how dare he die and cheat the proletariat out of their due?
This gets better with age.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn5EP9StlVA
206: Yes, but won’t the deferral of payment of tax and difference between estate taxes rates and cap gain be a significant pick up, compounded by subsequent beneficiaries estate planning?
The GRAT changes are a bummer, eh?
192:
False.
There is no doubt that BP, as a UK PLC, is totally committed to do everything possible to contain the oil leak and meet all its obligations in the USA.
Now my advice for those who die,
Declare the pennies on your eyes.
Pension Plans Go Broke as Public Payrolls Expand: Joe Mysak
June 11 (Bloomberg) — Seven states will run out of money to pay public pensions by 2020. That hasn’t stopped them from hiring new employees.
The seven are Illinois, Connecticut, Indiana, New Jersey, Hawaii, Louisiana and Oklahoma, according to Joshua D. Rauh of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Combined, they added 9,700 workers to both state and local government payrolls between December 2007 and April of this year, says the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
This number, 9,700, illustrates just how hard it is for political leaders to reduce headcount even as tax revenue declines, and even as the gap grows between what governments owe their workers in retirement pay and benefits and the amount they have on hand.
Hard? It’s almost impossible, as that number shows.
Politicians have talked a lot about layoffs during this recession. In most cases, that talk is an empty threat. Nobody wants to fire teachers, or firemen, or policemen, in the name of efficiency or good government.
It’s easy to get passionate about the subject. Let’s take a look at the numbers.
Companies started firing more employees than they hired in January 2008. After pausing in November 2009, they fired more in December. With the economy starting to turn around, they have hired more than fired every month so far this year.
Since the Peak
Employment peaked in December 2007 at 115.6 million, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. During the subsequent two years, companies shed 8.5 million workers, or 7.3 percent.
State and local governments, by contrast, kept hiring right through August 2008. From a peak of 19.8 million, these governments have reduced headcount by 231,000, or 1.2 percent.
This breaks down to 46,000 fewer employees on the state side (0.9 percent) and 185,000 among local governments (1.3 percent).
And this, I think, is what drives people crazy. What our politicians are telling us is that state and local governments are optimally sized — just right. If tax revenue declines, well, then we’ll just have to find more taxes and fees to replace it. We couldn’t possibly look at the cost-of-labor side of the equation.
Doesn’t that strike you as a tad arrogant and entitled?
If you really want to provoke outrage, of the same populist stripe that once targeted bankers’ bonuses, you have to take into consideration public pensions.
Enviable Dotage
Generous and bloated are the terms that have been used to describe them; critics have set up websites to pillory those government retirees who enjoy $100,000-plus annual pensions and other goodies, such as health-care benefits for themselves and their families for life.
These pensions and benefits are enviable, not to mention envied by all those private-sector employees who long ago were forcibly weaned off such defined-benefit programs to 401(k) plans that were subsequently shellacked by the stock market crash.
What’s equally clear is that such pensions and benefits now seem unaffordable, because those responsible — state and, sometimes, local governments — didn’t put away enough, or haven’t invested wisely enough, to pay for them.
“Are State Public Pensions Sustainable? Why the Federal Government Should Worry About State Pension Liabilities” is the title of Rauh’s recent study. It’s a provocative piece of work, especially for one of its tables, titled, “When Might State Pension Funds Run Dry?”
Circle 2018
Not everyone may agree with Rauh’s conclusions or methodology. He did get my attention with that table, showing Illinois running out of pension-fund assets in 2018; Connecticut, Indiana and New Jersey in 2019; and Hawaii, Louisiana and Oklahoma in 2020.
That’s when I consulted the website of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and was surprised, or perhaps nonplussed is the word, to discover that the state and local governments in these states, combined, added employees even as private companies were firing.
They have joined other state and local governments in firing workers since the peak of August 2008. That month, the seven states and their local governments employed 2,714,800 workers. They have since shed 20,300, and now employ 2,694,500. That’s still more than they carried in December 2007. But I suppose it’s a start.
After which, with her new found free time, maybe she can help OJ look for the killers.
Moran will be helping the district search for her replacement, Watson said. State law allows interim administrators to hold their jobs for up to two years, he said.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/96030484_School_official_can_collect_pension__and_still_work.html
Thank you for a great post
It took the Mexican government 10 months to cap the leaking Ixtoc I. 3 months into the Deepwater Horizon and its beginning to look as bleak.
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