From MarketWatch:
More people choosing to rent, not buy, their home
The share of Americans who own their home dropped again last year, but that decline is not being driven by foreclosures pushing people out of the real-estate market. Instead, more people appear to be rejecting the idea of a home as an investment.
About 66.5% of U.S. households owned their home at the end of 2010, down from 67.2% in 2009. The rate was 69% at the end of 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The main driver of last year’s drop was the substantial rise in renters. The number of homeowner households dropped by just 30,000 in the fourth quarter last year compared with a year earlier, but 1.1 million renter households were added in that time period.
“We’re keeping steady on the total number of homeowners at 75 million, but all of the [household] additions are renters so the ratio goes down,” said David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. It’s the younger demographics where homeownership rates are falling most, while the rate among those ages 55 and older have been more stable, he pointed out.
Popular reasons for why people are choosing to rent rather than buy have been widely reported: Some Americans remain concerned about home prices falling more, while others remain uncertain about the stability of the job they have. And for some, tighter credit standards for mortgage loans have been a factor.
But there might be another trend here, one that could have legs even after the economy recovers and housing markets are looking stable again: A return to making purchase decisions based on what is appropriate for the individual’s situation — not based on an expected return on investment.
“Traditionally, housing choices in the U.S. have been made based on need — what is the appropriate housing for your lifestyle,” said Greg Willett, vice president of research at MPF Research, a provider of market intelligence and insights for the multifamily housing industry. “During the boom period… [people] got off track.”
From CNBC:
Big Changes Coming for Mortgage Market
Late last week the Obama Administration does what it often does when it’s about to announce something controversial: It leaks a little bit to the news media to soften the blow. And so it was with the highly-anticipated, and currently overdue, “white paper” on reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The paper is expected by the end of this week.
…
What leaked last week was the idea of reducing Fannie, Freddie and FHA loan limits, currently at $729,750 for high-priced markets to $625,000. I’m not sure that is going to make a whole lot of difference. Remember that the loan limit used to be $417,000, before the housing crash. It was raised because government was the only game in town. Home prices have since fallen dramatically, and depending on what report you choose to believe, are still falling. A far lower loan limit, even while the median home price in California is still , would help to jumpstart private label mortgage securitization again. The jumbo market is already coming back.
…
There is no question the white paper will include plans to make Fannie and Freddie loans more expensive, reportedly by raising guarantee fees, which in turn might make private label RMBS cheaper. This could be done without legislation, so that’s particularly helpful. But that makes trouble for the Federal Housing Administration.
From Bloomberg:
New-Home Recovery Seen as Post-Super Bowl Selling Season Starts
Homebuilder executives and economists predict a post Super Bowl bounce in demand for residential construction as Americans turn their attention from football to another national pastime: house hunting.
The chief executive officers of six of the 10 largest U.S. homebuilders cited the potential of a sales comeback in the spring, traditionally their strongest season, during conference calls in the last four weeks. Housing forecasts from Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Bankers Association show the new-home market will begin a rebound that will last through at least 2012.
…
“The spring market is going to be the first test of the proposition that there’s an underlying improvement in new-home fundamentals,” DeKaser said in an interview. “If we don’t see the needle move, it will be very discouraging.”
From the WSJ:
Foreclosures: The Hits Keep Coming
Here’s something to sour any mortgage investor’s morning coffee: The average time it takes to foreclose on a home in the U.S. got 101 days longer last year, according to the latest report produced by Jacksonville-based research firm LPS Applied Analytics.
New foreclosures rose slightly compared with the prior year (2.19 million in December 2010, compared with 2.07 million in December 2009), says the LPS Mortgage Monitor report, which tracks a sample of 52.9 million loans across the country.
What does this all mean? Overall, foreclosure inventory is up (3.8% of loans were in foreclosure in December 2009, compared with 4.15% a year later), more delinquent homeowners are taking a step closer to losing their homes, and the foreclosure process is becoming more bogged down.
But there is a bright side: Fewer people are falling behind on their mortgage payments. Delinquency rates across all types of loans are down 18% since the start of 2010, from prime loans, which carry lower interest rates and are given to borrowers with better credit, to the dwindling ranks of subprime loans. New delinquencies – or loans that were current six months ago and have since gone bad – fell dramatically in the first quarter of 2010, then leveled off.
“The good news is delinquencies are down. The bad news is that a lot of that is just translating into foreclosures,” says Herb Blecher, a vice president with LPS. In other words, while fewer homeowners are falling into default, many who are already seriously delinquent are moving to the foreclosure stage, and more still are lingering in foreclosure limbo, as banks review hundreds of thousands of loan files before seizing people’s homes.
Good Morning New Jersey
From the Atlantic City Examiner:
Hamilton Township lays off 41 employees and plans to increase taxes
The Hamilton Township Committee meeting this evening was packed by citizens and employees. Residents packed the Committee room so that there was standing room only with a secondary crowd standing in the Municipal Building’s rotunda watching the meeting on a television screen. The main portion of the meeting was to present the Township’s layoff plan. The meeting was a continuation of an earlier budget meeting. Hamilton Township is facing a $2.4 million budget gap.
…
The Township Administrator noted that he met with each department head in an effort to head off layoffs. The Administrator noted, however, that both unions involved, the PBA and the Teamsters, refused to discuss concessions at this time. The Administrator noted that both unions indicated they may be willing to discuss more in the future. As a result of the lack of concessions, the Administrator announced that 13 full time police officers would be laid off and 14 full time teamster emploees would be laid off. In addition, non union Township employees would also suffer with 5 full time and 9 part time workers being laid off. The non union employees to be laid off will be 6 part-time board secretaries, 2 clerks in the tax office, a clerk in the office of vital statistics, a zoning officer, 2 court violations clerks, as well as a driver and an aide employed by the senior center.
…
The Administrator noted that a 2 1/2 cent tax increase, which would be within the new 2% cap, would also be implemented in order to make up the remainder of the budget gap. The Administrator also noted that another possiblity the Township is exploring is dissolving the MUA into the Township as well as the possible sharing of services with other communities.
From the Daily Record:
Report: NJ pension crisis only to get worse
Governor Chris Christie said Monday that a report that says the state’s pension crisis will get worse in the next several years further demonstrates the need to reduce public workers’ benefits.
Christie also said in a Statehouse news conference that Wall Street ratings agencies were looking at the combined $100 million unfunded liabilities the state faces — for both its pensions and health-care benefits for retirees. He expressed concern the state’s credit rating could be downgraded, which would raise interest rates on bonds when the state goes to borrow money.
“This could wind up costing the state not just in the long-term, but in the short-term,” Christie said. “I will tell you that the Legislature’s refusal to act since September, if it has ramifications for our fiscal ratings, they own it.”
A state-hired actuary, Janet Cranna, told boards that oversee funds for various employee groups last week that the state needed to begin making contributions to its pension funds after largely skipping the payments for a decade.
The funds are collectively valued at $70.8 billion.
Cranna said the pension shortfall would most certainly get worse because the state is slated to make a $500 million payment in the budget that begins July 1, when the pension fund actually needs a $3.5 billion installment this coming year to stay even with the obligations that will be owed over the next 30 years.
From the Herald News:
Sewer authority chops 71 jobs in ongoing shakeup
Governor Christie on Monday delivered what he called “direct property tax relief” to residents when he announced the dismissal of 71 employees of the scandal-plagued Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners.
Christie announced the mass termination at a news conference at the State House in Trenton, part of his effort to clean house at the regional sewer authority that he says has become a cesspool of nepotism and political patronage.
“This is direct property tax relief because the PVSC bills municipalities directly for the services it provides,” Christie said. “It’s no secret the PVSC has violated the taxpayers’ and ratepayers’ trust. Instead of taking steps to reform the commission, the members of the board who we terminated a week ago repeatedly engaged in a pattern of abuse for their own personal benefit and the benefit of family members, friends and political allies.”
Recent published reports in The Star-Ledger found the PVSC payroll loaded with friends and relatives of PVSC commissioners, many of them drawing six-figure salaries. And the commissioners routinely doled out no-bid contracts for professional services to politically connected firms, according to the reports.
Homeowners face ‘new normal’ in housing bust
Cash Buyers Lift Housing
How to interpret MBRI?
MBRI of 1-20: This denotes that it is much less expensive to buy a home than to stay on rental, in these cities / sub-cities. Property seekers looking at investing here are advised to buy a property than staying on rentals.
MBRI of 21-25: This denotes that it is relatively more expensive to buy a home than to stay on rental, in these cities / sub-cities. This is a neutral range and property seekers looking at investing here are advised to take the final decision based on their financial situation.
MBRI of 25+: This denotes that it is much more expensive to buy a home than to stay on rental, in these cities / sub-cities. Property seekers looking at investing here are advised to rent a property rather than buying.
Interpretation of MBRI
Let’s look at the MBRI data for Chennai (16) and Ahmedabad (18) and compare that with MBRI for Mumbai (25) and Delhi (28). A lower MBRI for Chennai and Ahmedabad indicates that it is less expensive to buy a property here than to stay on rent. Let us take an example to understand the MBRI dynamics with-in a city, if you look at Delhi NCR, we find that MBRI for Gurgaon, Faridabad & Noida is 17, 18 & 19 respectively, indicating that property seekers will be better off buying a property in these sub-cities rather than staying on rent. This also indicates that the rentals in these sub-cities are higher when compared with the prevailing capital values. On the other hand, MBRI for Delhi East, Delhi North & Dwarka is 37, 38 & 42 respectively, indicating that one should prefer to stay on rent rather than buying a property here. High MBRI also indicate lower rental value when compared with the capital value of property. Similar interpretation can be drawn for other cities / sub-cities.
Wrong post earlier. Please ignore.
#9 – I know someone who accounts for 2 or 3 of the units in FL. I think they ran him a just about what a new civic costs a piece. There aren’t any non-cash buyers for these units since getting financing is very difficult. In many cases the developments don’t meet vacancy or ownership requirements, the HOAs are in poor financial condition, non owner occupied, etc etc. They are rented now and are cash flow positive, believe it or not, and the ROI isn’t half bad.
From the AP:
AP analysis: Foreclosures raise US economic stress
The nation’s economic stress inched up in December because higher foreclosures outweighed lower unemployment, according to The Associated Press’ monthly analysis.
Bankruptcy levels remained largely unchanged from November. But the depressed housing market took a toll. Foreclosure rates rose in 33 states, most sharply in Utah, New Jersey, Nevada and Arizona.
Most analysts expect the economy to gain momentum this year, in part because of a tax-cut package that lowers workers’ Social Security taxes and puts more money in their paychecks. But two straight months of higher stress to end 2010 marked a setback after the nation’s economic pain had eased since the start of last year, the AP Economic Stress Index showed.
grim (12)-
Yep. Those investors will also be sure to put on their snow boots and travel to NJ, when the projected cash flows here match what you can get in FL.
Yes, Graydon and Ellery…it WILL happen here. No one will be spared.
Spring market DOA. The Bernank is no longer in control of the 10y, and the short-short end of the yield curve is under serious pressure.
Yield must be paid.
Are people actually dumb enough to think we are out of the woods yet? Employment levels still stuck (think big pharma) and will remain this way for a long time. Wages continue to erode, food prices up, foreclosure pile as big as ever, unfunded federal programs out the wazoo, pension shortfall in the Garden State and many others, these obligations too big to ever effectively manage and I am reading that new home builders are thinking better times ahead? Forget KoolAid, there are a whole lot of people on crack. We need inflation to kick up 3% and 5+ million good jobs to come into the market in the next couple of years along with aggressive management of pension issues and things will start to get better. Short of that, forget about it. But I guess for some, false hope is better than no hope.
toast (15)-
It’s quickly fading to black…and we have dopes in the media proclaiming morning in Amerika.
they meant Mourning in America.
Good thing we had that TARP program –
http://www.financialarmageddon.com/2011/02/the-unbitten-bullet.html
Just wake me up when it’s time to start rioting.
It will be a minimum of 20 years before the RE market normalizes. I can still see very plausible arguments for one entire generation to completely skip the pursuit of owning RE in any form. We can already see the paradigm shift in the new perception of RE ownership as consumption, not investment. There will also be an increased emphasis placed upon mobility (for job purposes) and the avoidance of any kind of debt and/or things bought with leverage/margin. Imagine the drop in household formation rate with just these few concepts taking broad root in the population of 20-30 year-olds!
When the second generation comes, we could well be in the midst of a demographic nightmare, such as the one that’s about to do in Japan. We could well be a geriatric nation, with any and all younger people working in support of two billion non-productive geezers who produce absolutely nothing and won’t die. At that point, it could easily take a second twenty years to stim any kind of RE activity of note…and it won’t happen at all if we’re still in the midst of “kick the can down the road” policies and other forms of denial.
After two generations- or forty years- the “Amerikan Dream” of homeownership will be so far removed from the public consciousness and so rare that it could seem unnatural and foreign. If so, it could easily take 50-100 years for any sort of recovery.
Perhaps the best way out of the woods for us is to aggressively work to eliminate nuclear weapons all over the planet, so that we can then turn around and throw ourselves a proper world war.
The idea would be to kill off a billion or so people, without giving ourselves the ability to get so carried away that we off the planet.
They are talking about closing the Post Office. When Armeggedon hits, Kevin Costners, “The Postman” will resurrect it.
Debt
offing several billion people is really a plus anyway you look at it. The energy problem is pretty much resolved, global resource scarcity is suddenly a non issue, and the trillions in monopoly money debt is vaporized.
A nice little ground war in asia could off a billion without to much effort. A bioweapon like the ones the soviets developed at the end of the cold war would do wonders as well and could probably halve the global population in short order..
Debt,
we could always promote pure fusion weapons. all the fun of standard nukes with virtually none of the fallout. Although Project Thor is a personal favorite of mine, kinetic bombardment. Once again all the fun of nukes but 0 radiation. Think of it as the fat free, zero calorie ice cream of the WMD world.
Debt,
If we cut ALL federal spending except for existing medicare,medicaid, SS, unemployment, welfare, and debt payments on the federal deficit, we would still be running a deficit!
There is no solution that doesn’t involve massively restricting government cheese.
Debt – people are in major denial. We really have become a nation of wimps. If we wanted to, 2-3 years of tough times and as a people, busting our backsides would do wonders to get us well on the road to recovery. It won’t happen though as it would require effort, discomfort and sacrifice that we as a people no longer have the emotional or psychological strength to handle. One of the reasons the greatest generation was so is due to enduring and overcoming hardship. There is a certain grit this group had that is long gone in our country today. Military service should be required, it would provide immense character building that our nation needs.
PS – lets also tax Apple products and other similar mind numbing crap that we don’t need and use the proceeds to re-build roads and such.
Cat are we back on Rods from God, listen it is only a matter of time before a global pandemic hits. some bug is going to mutate and go bonkers in the heavily populated areas of Asia. some idiot will travel to china, probably me, and be patient zero spreading all of the joy and goodness like a bioweapon Johnny Appleseed
Pain,
Yep, sorry. It’s just so damn fascinating as it rivals the destructive power of nukes but is fairly low tech. all you need is heavy lift capability to high orbits.
Pain,
Image what a nice little 1918 flu pandemic would do with modern day population densities and modern high speed travel.
Cat, let’s restrict government cheese. The incidence of obesity in this country is already epidemic anyhow. Perhaps we can reduce both the debt and diabetes at the same time.
BTW – bring back gym class to schools. Kids are too fat.
30 Toast
by all means, that however will be a short road for any politician who attempts it and could be a good way to start a revolution/insurgency. As you pointed out most people are in denial. Even if you point out the 5th grade level math of the situation to them they will still demand what was promised. The fact that fulfilling said promises are a mathematical impossibility is irrelevant to them.
Bit of Armageddon creeping into this morning’s thread, and I was wondering whether I should contribute to it.
Why the hell not.
Saw that Chrysler has an overtly Armageddon-themed advertisement. Ostensibly it is about snow, but those ads that popped up after the LA riots were ostensibly about road hazards. You do the math.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GolbkisULIM
[27] pain,
In that case, we are not taking your Dodge bug-out vehicle to the Nompound.
Nom 32
interesting ad
Nom,
how about a sequoia?
When some of us began our careers, work was a place. We showed up there each day and did our job. We might get sent out on the road for a day or week or whatever but we had a home base, as it were. We also expected to be at that place for many years. As such, we wanted to live nearby with a long-term housing arrangement.
Now, work is less geocentric and the ability to move to take advantage of new opportunities is more important than ever. In this new climate, it is no surprise that younger workers prefer to not be weighed down by home ownership. The home ownership craze is, really, just another anomaly of the post WWII era. It had, and still does have, certain value, but it is not something one should expect will continue.
The end is NOT nigh (geriatric edition): YES!
Take that! Bag-swinging granny fights off jewel thieves (video)
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/take_that_bag_swinging_granny_fights_zWpSVLgxKByg8w5CdzyALL
This link was sent to me by a friend in Egypt. Mubarak is said to be worth over $40 Billion yet he’s only held government jobs for his entire life. It’s amazing that the US government send all of these countries aid. Makes one wonder what somebody like Hamid Karzai is pulling out of Afghanistan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il-36NXye2c
d2d
It is estimated that 70% of employed Egyptians work for the government. Oh and they all just got a 15% raise.
this could get messy
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/investing/foreclosure-attorneys-illegally-outsourcing-legal-work-nonlawyers/19830892/?icid=sphere_copyright
Debt,
you might like this little bit from the article
As little respect as the general public may have for lawyers, the legal profession does involve skill and a deep base of knowledge: Even legal tasks that look like empty-headed blank filling — completing an assignment of mortgage, for example — are not. Properly transferring the ownership of real property is crucially important, and the failure to do so in possibly millions of cases across the country could trigger yet another stage of the housing meltdown as clouded titles thwart sales or force down prices to account for the attendant risks.
If that shoe drops — personally I think it’s less an “if” than a “when” — people should remember it was the banks’ embrace of LPS Default Solutions and then Prommis Solutions as cost-saving measures that created much of the problem.
Why do attorneys wear ties?
To prevent their foreskin from slipping over their heads.
Fun times at the Montclair BOE last night.
Some interesting nuggets from the article – township ratables declined $138 Million in the last year.
Looks like the MEA will be sacrificing their lowest paid members so that everyone else can get their raises and super cheap healthcare. The district is going to eliminate all instuctional aides except in Kindergarten and special education. Those aide positions that do remain will be outsourced – the few asked back will most certainly be paid even less and will not get any of the generous benefits that the district provides the MEA. This is a big issue in an integrated SES district that does not “track” students. The aides make it possible to offer differentiated instruction to kids performing at all different levels.
They will also be cutting transportation and security at the HS.
Hey, but the teachers will get their raises. Everything’s great, right?
http://kids.baristanet.com/2011/02/alvarez-presents-preliminary-school-budget/#more-8958
Gator
Mainstreaming without adequate aids is a disaster for all of the kids involved. if they are going to do that they might as well pull the mainstreamed kids back into special ed.
Cat 44 – It’s going to be a nightmare. I am so glad we are not sending Lil Gator back to this district next year.
The main classroom aide in Lil Gator’s class this year has been working alongside his teacher for 25 years. They work flawlessly together and it enables his teacher to work with the kids that are reading at a second grade level alongside the kids who didn’t know their letters or their colors when coming into her class.
We also have a learning disabled child with hearing issues that is mainstreamed into that class. She is assigned a full-time aide as well. In actuality, this child’s aide is a resouce for the whole class and a consistent presence for this child that has enabled her to be mainstreamed into the general ed population. I wonder how long that will be able to continue once she has a different aide every week.
Jersey City seeks to award $120,000 no-bid contract to company owned by Team Healy campaign donor
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2011/02/jersey_city_seeks_to_award_120.html
re # 38- $40- $70 Billion? Amazing amount of Kelptocracy in Egypt courtesy of the American Taxpayer. Way over in Afghanistan Karzi’s brother (the one that is not a drug kingping) was put in change of Kabul Bank which had bank runs as it went insolvent. This brother apparently lived in a waterfront villa in Dubai. Obama was over there early last year pleading with them to clamp down on the corruption however a veteran CIA agent Michael Scheuer said it best when he gave the opinion that the only non-corrupt people who could take charge of Afghanistan were the Taliban.
looks like the PIIGS are about to be back in the spotlight
In a policy brief published on Monday, the Bruegel think tank argues that Greece is “clearly on the verge of insolvency” and that the swift restructuring of its debt, with creditors accepting a 30 percent “haircut,” should form part of a three-pronged strategy that includes the strengthening of the eurozone banking system and policies to foster greater growth in member states with weak economies. “Our conclusion therefore, is that Greece has become insolvent and that further lending without a significant enough debt reduction is not a viable strategy,” the think tank argues.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/bruegel-think-tank-says-greece-should-restructure-debt-now-claims-country-insolvent-and-furt
Gator,
If was really “for the children” they would either accept across the board pay cuts to keep the aids, or they would drop the aids and pull the mainstreamed kids back into special ed. The chosen solution is probably one of the worst outcomes for the children involved.
What would it take to keep they aids? a 1% – 3% paycut across the board? would a pay freeze with no cuts close the gap?
re: # 48 – News From Ireland, about 2k-3k mostly young people are leaving every week for Australia and other parts of the EU looking for work. They could lose perhaps as much as 10% of their population over the next few years, higher emigration numbers than the 1980s. If there aren’t any young taxpayers propping up the system it will collapse.
Cat 49 – Pay freeze would close the gap. The proposed across the board raises will cost $2.5M this year. The district will save $1.7M by cutting the aides. From what I understand, many individual teachers would be willing to reopen negotiations. But the NJEA was not happy that the MEA made token concessions last year (highest earners gave up raises and everyone agreed to pay their 1.5% of salary in for healthcare before it became mandated by the state). MEA leadership is refusing to reopen contract discussions.
Oh and BTW it apparently costs $24k/year to educate a kid in Asbury Park.
http://www.app.com/article/20110207/NJNEWS15/102070325/Per-student-costs-rising-Shore-Highest-Asbury-24G-lowest-Toms-River-10G?odyssey=nav%7Chead
Cat [40];
I wish I had time to dive into that today. Particularly because I’ve been seriously considering going all merc and selling my soul to dive into the foreclosure forestallment business. Why should house pushers and debt merchants be the only guys to get rich fleecing idiots?
As it is, by the time I get to read it, the discussion will have moved on.
I totally agree with the rent vs own argument at this time. Between price declines and an uncertain and sometimes volatile property tax situation renting has become the smart thing to do.
The only hope real estate has IMO is if a severe inflationary episode happens. Even then the overhanging inventory should dull any price increases.
On another note. Gold and silver looking strong here. 1320 support level held nicely and silver is the gorilla in the room. Looks like the speculative froth we built up in December is now gone for the time being.
3 teachers in one class. I bet class size is small. The nuns in the bronx had 40 kids each and had better results.
Back in
NJGator says:
February 8, 2011 at 9:58 am
Cat 44 – It’s going to be a nightmare. I am so glad we are not sending Lil Gator back to this district next year.
The main classroom aide in Lil Gator’s class this year has been working alongside his teacher for 25 years. They work flawlessly together and it enables his teacher to work with the kids that are reading at a second grade level alongside the kids who didn’t know their letters or their colors when coming into her class.
We also have a learning disabled child with hearing issues that is mainstreamed into that class. She is assigned a full-time aide as well. In actuality, this child’s aide is a resouce for the whole class and a consistent presence for this child that has enabled her to be mainstreamed into the general ed population. I wonder how long that will be able to continue once she has a different aide every week.
And to think in the summer of 2007 and 2008 Gurneys inn could not get any Irish kids to come and work for them for the summer.
Juice Box says:
February 8, 2011 at 10:13 am
re: # 48 – News From Ireland, about 2k-3k mostly young people are leaving every week for Australia and other parts of the EU looking for work. They could lose perhaps as much as 10% of their population over the next few years, higher emigration numbers than the 1980s. If there aren’t any young taxpayers propping up the system it will collapse.
Al 53
How do we get that inflationary period without wage increases? We would need to see inflation leaking into wages for that scenario to happen. Perhaps someone can propose a Dark Energy model of economics that can pump up an inflationary period without measurable wage increases.
“How do we get that inflationary period without wage increases?”
Cat,
Simple, a loss of confidence in the currency.
56.
SC,
Real inflation is already 6-7%. What do you want it to be before you will call it what its is?
Al, WIN
We already have high inflation, i agree. But without incomes inflating as well, prices for things like homes are not going to inflate. Commodities certainly will and are doing so. A loss fo confidence like WIN is suggesting is closer to a hyper-inflationary scenario. While not impossible i dont think we are there yet, there isnt anywhere for everyone to run to yet when they bail on the dollar.
but hey, thats just a guess son my part
51- It costs $24K/year to teach these kids strategic “distribution” points in Asbury.
Karma can be ruthless:
chicagotribune.com
Man Stabbed to Death by Rooster During C*ckfight
KTLA News
7:48 PM CST, February 7, 2011
Advertisement
DELANO, Calif. — A man attending an illegal c*ckfight died after being stabbed by a rooster.
The incident occurred during a c*ckfight in which birds are strapped with razor-like knives to fight each other, often times to their death.
The Kern County coroner says 35-year-old Jose Luis Ochoa was declared dead at a hospital about two hours after he suffered the injury.
An autopsy concluded Ochoa died of an accidental “sharp force injury” to his right calf.
C*ckfighting is a sport, illegal in the United States, in which specially bred roosters are put into a ring and encouraged to fight until one is incapacitated or killed.
According to the Bakersfield Californian, this was not the victim’s first c*ckfight.
Last year, Ochoa paid $370 in fines after pleading no contest to one count of owning or training an animal for fighting, according to Kern County Superior Court records.
“Oh and BTW it apparently costs $24k/year to educate a kid in Asbury Park.”
If they were coming out educated, it would be a decent deal, given where many of these kids are starting. Unfortunately…..
China buying GLD shares and taking delivery per King World News.
“The Asians, particularly the Chinese, want physical gold and they want it tomorrow. So the Chinese have a new method. They are now planning to buy tremendous amounts of the ETF GLD. They will then tender the GLD shares for immediate delivery of the gold. This bypasses all of the rules of places such as the Comex limiting delivery. There is no limit as to how much you can buy from the ETF GLD.
Mainstream media and some pundits have been pointing to drawdowns in GLD and saying there is liquidation of tonnage and that it is bearish for gold. They are ignorant and don’t understand what is happening is large buyers are tendering shares for delivery, and this is extremely bullish for the gold market.
This gets around the delays, delivery problems and any form of limitation.
The Asian entities are essentially looking for ways to get hold of physical gold because they are having trouble procuring gold in large quantities.
Those short of gold have been trying for some time to cap the price of gold. As far as the price of gold, it has not yet taken off to the upside, but it is just a matter of time before the paper market is overwhelmed by these physical purchases. Keep in mind these paper games are allowing the Asians to buy at lower levels so they are not complaining. We have made our lows in both gold and silver and all dips should be bought going forward.”
http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2011/2/7_KWN_Source_-_Expect_Massive_Chinese_Gold_Buying_Using_GLD.html
re #57 – The modern theory of the “bond vigilantes” is that they won’t act until there is signs of wage inflation. Case in point is the 2 Trillion or so in generally short term instruments Obama was frothing at the mouth about yesterday at the US Chamber of Commerce. He wants companies to spend their reserves on hiring people here in the USA. The Balance sheets of companies are usually in short term debt Treasuries etc. Owners of these global enterprises are more concerned with labor pricing power which represents the bulk of operating cost. They can and will pass on the commodity inflation onto consumers eventually via cost push inflation, and if wage inflation comes as employment tightens, all bets are off. The printing presses will be needing a few more shifts at the NY Fed Desk to hit the enter key on the buy side if we see the modern Bond Vigilantes start selling. Major foreign creditors who purchases are mainly political could be forced into the fray. Bernake gave himself an Attaboy last week for the rise in the S&P, however as inflation rears it’s head will he raise rates and/or go to all QE3?
John,
No comment?
Like tales of John’s school daze:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/crime/female-gym-teacher-accused-of-sex-acts-with-football-players-1072802.html
Gator,
For the quality of education provided in TR, they should be spending below average.
re # 63 – Al, who writes this Malarkey. King World news? Title to leased gold? Bah!
Nom just found a guy who sells a kit to do convert YJ wranglers to old school mercedes diesel. We have a mercedes diesel that we were going to scrap but I may have to hold onto it now. Veggie Oil bug out vehicle awesomeness
JJ 54 – We have 25 kids/class on average. And most classes only have 2 adults/room. I believe our K class was the only one with three, and that’s because a mainstreamed child in the class had a requirement in her IEP for a full-time aide to be assigned.
The big difference between your nuns, or even the city public school I attended 30 years ago and our district today is probably tracking. Our district does not do it. We do not have the high achievers assigned to one class and the kids who need help assigned to another. We lump kids in classes together regardless of abilities. And our district is not homogenous. We have lots of wealthy kids and then about 17% of the kids in the district are eligible for free and reduced price lunch. There is a huge “achievement gap” between the two.
http://www.app.com/article/20110208/NJNEWS10/110208002/Ruling-due-Campbell-s-quest-raze-NJ-building-?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Frontpage|s
CAMDEN — A judge is expected to rule Tuesday on a case involving two Camden icons.
The Campbell Soup Co. wants to knock down a former Sears department store building to make way for an office park.
But a group of activists has been fighting for years to keep the building near the Campbell headquarters intact. They say the 1920s building has historical value as a prototype for the modern mall and that it should be turned into a marketplace for restaurant equipment businesses
snip
“He wants companies to spend their reserves on hiring people here in the USA. ”
Unlike gvernments, businesses do not hire people to try and stimulate the economy, they hire in order to achieve production goals.
http://www.app.com/article/20110208/NJNEWS10/110208020/Christie-Benefits-must-cut-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage
snip
Christie said Monday that the state’s contribution to the pension system next year
will be addressed “in the context of the budget.” He did not elaborate.
Christie said he was focused on reducing benefits for employees and cutting
cost-of-living increases for retirees. “What that (actuary) report tells you is that
unless you change benefits, you will not fix the system,” he said.
In addition, the governor castigated state Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney for not having his pension reform proposal available on the Internet for public review, even though Republicans do not have one either.
Christie noted Sweeney’s bill was not available at the state Legislature’s website,
even though Sweeney had sent out a news release about it.
“Sen. Sweeney’s pension proposal, literally, is a blank piece of paper with a bill
number on top of it,” Christie said. “If there’s a symbol of the Democrats’ commitment to pension reform, that’s it: A bill with no text.”
snip
Hey Garth, like I’m tired of life. I think I will get a bear to kill me:
http://www.app.com/article/20110128/NJNEWS12/110128062/Arizona-fugitive-planned-suicide-by-bear-?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Frontpage|s
That or hitchhike to Indiana. It is kinda the same thing. Sooooo far from NY.
64.
Juice,
How can there not be QE 3? 80% of all US treasuries are now bought by the Fed making them now the largest holder of treasuries in the world. Its QE to infinity and then a new currency.
This HAD to hurt:
http://cmsimg.app.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=B3&Date=20110207&Category=NJNEWS10&ArtNo
re # 71 – Shore we agree however there are other deals in the works. I mentioned previously corporate income taxes. Companies are in the driving seat if Obama has any chance of re-election save a total idiot of a Republican candidate. H.R. 25 the Fair Tax Act was reintroduced and could get some traction.
Also States are doing the same. Indiana is cutting corporate tax rates, Florida wants to eliminate them, I believe our Governor was in Chicago trying to woo the businesses to move here.
Juice,
“re # 63 – Al, who writes this Malarkey. King World news? Title to leased gold? Bah!”
The silver liberation army is on the march.
Gold $1,367.70 $1,368.70 $20.00
Silver $30.16 $30.21 $0.79
77.
Juice,
In DC they were talking about a tax holiday so the corporations could repatriate over a trillion dollars of cash tax free. In return they would be to commit to creating jobs. This was tried by Bush in 2005 and it was a flop. The only thing I see happening is the US treasury losing about 500 billion in tax revenue if this were done.
Read an article on Philly.com about how the Gov of NJ raided the State fund to subsidize cable TV for the poor in order to reduce the deficit (sorry no link). One unemployed individual (due to disability) was quoted as saying he could have used the money to help pay his $120 a month cable bill since all he was able to do was sit home and watch TV. Has cable TV become a right in NJ?
My school does one stupid one smart. When they assign classes troublemakers, disabled, autistic gets offset by good kids. My one daughter gets perfect A’s, perfect attendence and is very polite. No clue how that happened. Meanwhile, Anthony is a kid whose mom is in prision, Dad has 8 kids to raise and he is a blue collar worker dirt poor, kids run wild, no homework done and Anthony has ADD and behaviorial issues. He is the worst in the grade, my daughter is best in the grade. My daughter and Anthony are together every year. If you get worst, you get best. These are called “inclusion classes” now the average kids sometimes all get lumped together in a non-inclusion class. Interesting the bright kids get pulled out on Friday afternoons to go to smart class. Since smart kids are in inclusion class that leaves those classes with only dummies on Friday afternoon, it is like the Sweathogs from Welcome back Kotter.
NJGator says:
February 8, 2011 at 11:16 am
JJ 54 – We have 25 kids/class on average. And most classes only have 2 adults/room. I believe our K class was the only one with three, and that’s because a mainstreamed child in the class had a requirement in her IEP for a full-time aide to be assigned.
The big difference between your nuns, or even the city public school I attended 30 years ago and our district today is probably tracking. Our district does not do it. We do not have the high achievers assigned to one class and the kids who need help assigned to another. We lump kids in classes together regardless of abilities. And our district is not homogenous. We have lots of wealthy kids and then about 17% of the kids in the district are eligible for free and reduced price lunch. There is a huge “achievement gap” between the two.
The end is nigh…….so make some money….
http://www.amazon.com/Street-Journal-Guide-Investing-Apocalypse/dp/0062001329
http://deadspin.com/#!5752262/mark-sanchezs-17+year+old-lady-friend-has-found-a-lawyer
what goes into 17 twice? Mark Sanchez
The current educational system is easy to understand once we understand that their goal is to render everyone stupid and compliant.
[84] debt
Just got off phone with auto dealer in Watchung that thought I was a stupid and compliant person.
Had put down a deposit on a car, just to hold it. Decided not to get it, so salesman promises to refund deposit. Naturally, this doesn’t occur.
Take it up with his manager via email. She promises to have someone get back to me. I said, no one needs to get back, you just need to do it. She said ok. Naturally, it doesn’t happen.
Yesterday, I leave a message indicating my disappointment, and advising that I will not be in touch before commencing suit. Further, because there will be a count under the Consumer Fraud Act, the AG has to be copied on the pleading. Started draft on summons and complaint.
Today, they call to advise that they processed the refund. I told them that I will believe it when I see it.
Now here is what strikes me as odd: Virtually everyone in NJ that has tried to screw with me knows I am an attorney and they try it anyway. Then they are surprised when I pull out the big guns, even after I make it clear that I will. This suggests that there is just something in the hubris of NJ living that convinces people that they will get their way if they are just obstreperous enough. Fortunately, they don’t have that much faith in their powers of persuasion before a sitting judge.
[83] jj
That’s an old Roman Polanski joke you retreaded.
[82] chifi
I find that the best way to make money off the apocalypse is to write a book on how to make money on the apocalypse.
[42] Toast
ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!
[77] Juice
Fat Man was an idiot for taking on Illinois on the tax issue. People in glass houses . . . .
Indiana, however, can take business from Illinois, as can some of its neighbors. But in the end, it probably won’t happen to any large extent because Ill. did not raise its tax rates badly (yes, on a percentage basis, it seems high but Ill already had low state tax rates). Also, because of apportionment, there probably would not be much in the way of a tax effect anyway. Defecting businesses will still owe IL tax on IL-sourced business.
That’s the dirty little secret of state tax arbitrage; it really doesn’t save nearly as much as one thinks unless they can parlay it into a tax concession to relocate (or not relocate).
Party on Garth!
“Suez Canal Company workers from the cities of Suez, Port Said, and Ismailia began an open-ended sit in today. Disruptions to shipping movements, as well as disasterous econmic losses, are expected if the strike continues. Over 6000 protesters have agreed that they will not go home today once their shift is over and will continue their in front of the company’s headquarters until their demands are met. They are protesting against poor wages and deteriorating health and working conditions.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/here-we-go-suez-canal-workers-go-strike
Kudos on using….obstreperous …in a post. Based on that I wouldn’t cross you either. Shore Guy on the other hand seems mildly retarded.
Comrade 85 Car dealers are dooch bags covered in poo
89. Asking a business to move to NJ for a ‘tax break’ is like asking a Christian to enter the lion’s den for a snack.
Dum De Dum Dum…
BEIJING (AP) — China’s central bank raised interest rates for the second time in just over a month in a bid to dampen high inflation and guide blistering economic growth to a sustainable level.
Juice,
this cant be helping the situation
“U.N. Food Agency Issues Warning on China Drough
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/09/business/global/09food.html?hp
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/08/AR2011020803176.html?hpid=topnews
Obama to propose relief for states overburdened by debt
http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/02/08/update-no-suez-strike-says-dow-jones/
Comrade,
Glad you got a little chuckle out of it. Although not an attorney, many in my family are and they like the legal humor too.
On another note, try doing all of your car shopping online. It takes away all the power from the dealer. Edmunds has a place on their site where you can send out a request for pricing to several dealers at the same time. I would suggest using an email account that is not your everyday one. Most, but not all dealers are better today at not bombarding you with stupid promotional emails but they still come. Do not provide a phone # either as they would prefer to get you on the phone. Many of the more successful high volume dealers have sales people who only do internet stuff all day and never have any face to face contact w buyer. As such, they are tuned in to the idea of online negotiating.
Meanwhile, China is deploying 300mph trains:
Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama will ask Congress next week to approve a six-year, $53 billion program for construction of a national high-speed and intercity rail network, Vice President Joe Biden said.
“There are key places where we cannot afford to sacrifice as a nation — one of which is infrastructure,” Biden said in a speech today at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. Obama submits his fiscal 2012 budget to Congress on Feb. 14.
Under the budget proposal, about $8 billion would be spent in the first year to develop or improve interconnected rail corridors that Biden said would form the backbone of a national high-speed rail system.
Such corridors would be divided into three categories: “core express” for trains achieving speeds of between 125 and 250 miles per hour or more; “regional” lines for trains traveling between 90 to 125 miles per hour and “emerging” rail lines for passenger trains traveling as much as 90 miles per hour.
snip
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/02/07/bloomberg1376-LGB1XI0YHQ0X01-47A1H8CQGA45L9ON54H6TVK7EK.DTL#ixzz1DOYCwORh
Only buys new cars during Employee Pricing, Cash for Clunkers in depth of a recession. Never buy a car from a dealer, ever in good times.
re # 9- Did they not spend $8 Billion on this in the 2009 Stimulus? Where is the train, heck where did they lay new high speed track?
Seems like this is just another version of the first stimulus to keep insolvent Amtrack
running and perhaps expand the Acela train technology a bit.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-08/treasuries-fall-after-3-year-note-sale-attracts-reduced-foreign-demand.html
re # 95 – Great Chinese Famine 1958-1961 45 million premature deaths and every dog and animal of nearly any kind was eaten as well as cannibalism.
Aside from New York to Chicago, what locations really need a 300 mph train? This is government idiocy at its best. Biden boasts of ridership increases from Harrisburg and Philly. I guess we have to use that metric since whether the line actually makes money or not isn’t a factor so long as we spend spend spend.
re #104 – Acela has proven to be be somewhat profitable for the Boston to DC run, however make a quick visit to web site booking and look at the Boston to New York schedule. You will see a whopping 18-minute difference between scheduled Acela service and the standard train service. Acela for most of its run travels on the same rails as NE Corridor freight trains. The freight trains beat up the track to the point
where the Acela cannot run at full speed and it travels 40 mph for lots of stretches.
Al,
What inflation?
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/02/08/feds-lockhart-plays-down-inflation-pressures/
104.dan says:
February 8, 2011 at 2:16 pm
Aside from New York to Chicago, what locations really need a 300 mph train? This is government idiocy at its best. Biden boasts of ridership increases from Harrisburg and Philly. I guess we have to use that metric since whether the line actually makes money or not isn’t a factor so long as we spend spend spend.
BOS to DC would clean up I-95, Logan, LGA, EWR…etc….it would be a big deal…
Are any truly great modern train systems profitable? Aren’t they ALL govt subsidized? Good rails is a quality of life issue. You either take one for the team or you take the bus. BTW, highways aren’t profitable either. Maybe we should all just get monster trucks. I often fantasized while growing old on Rt1 about driving a monster truck past the traffic, over the ostentatious front lawns of J&J, Nova Nordisk…waving at all the crawling germanmobiles while I turn a 40 min trip into a 10 min trip. It would be really hard getting the baby up into the baby seat though.
Barbara, monster truck I used to dream of an M1 abrahams on the parkway.
Monster trucks don’t handle so good.
Save time? Ride a sportbike!
Or better yet, Stay home. I hate driving around here. Countdown has begun!!! Two more years and we are out of NJ! But to where?
oh yeah, the ol two year count down… I’ve been doing that count down for 6 years now. Two years: short enough to make it hopeful, long enough make putting it off easy.
Barbara,
Hang around the marinas enough and you’ll realize that the solution for hoisting otherwise un-liftable objects is a davit.
I don’t need a davit, I just need a 4 bedroom craftsman 4 square fixer with original details in good shape in a decent town at a price that reflects the reality of the other 50 plus homes up for sale that no one wants either.
It might be easier to find a davit that fits a monster truck.
‘fixer in good shape’ mak-a-no-sense. Good details, but shitty kitchens, baths, roof
At least if you’re constrained to NJ.
I prefer the JLG lift for moving objects into high spots.
Ah Barbara that keen northeastern wit! Along with a bangin body i bet!
All i know is that i am completely over the whole state!
I’m over the state too, but whenever I go to another state, I’m all like “WTF, Dunkin Donutz CLOSES HERE???” This place is a bad addiction. Ugly, expensive, crowded yet I can’t get comfy anywhere else so far.
112 Essex
Consider moving to college towns such as Ann Arbor, Burlington, Madison or other places such as Annapolis, Asheville, Charlottesville.
Top 3 things you don’t like about the garden state are?
Does anyone know of a decent dental plan available in NJ for just a single person?
Who needs 300 MPH train? We all do.
SanDiego to Seattle
Minneapolis to Chicago to NOLA to Houston to Dallas to Kansas City to Minneapolis would be a God run.
Boston to Miami
Chicago to Cleveland to Buffalo to Boston
Chicago to Pittsburgh to Philly to DC
Chicago to Atlanta to Miami
San Diego to Phoenix to Dallas to Houston to NOLA to Jacksonville
Seattle to Minneapolis to Chicago
Los Angelia to LasVegas to Salt Lake City to Denver to KC to St. Louis to Indianapolis to Pittsburgh to Baltimore to DC
City-center to city-center at 300 MPH would be faster than flying in many cases and could be powered by nuclear, solar, etc. And, t would cost a fraction of what we have spent to subsidize automobile transportation.
[105] juice,
Acelas get priority over regionals, so factor that in as well. Freight lines are an issue over those portions controlled by CSX, but that isn’t as frequent with the Acelas.
FWIW, my wife and I ride the corridor regularly (she more than I as of late), and she says the Acelas are always booked up.
[123] toast
Gotta put in a plug for Amherst, MA.
[96] shore guy,
I believe that I said some months back that a federal bailout of the states would not be a massive bailout bill, but an incremental nibbling away in a thousand different places. Thus, the admin. can maintain the illusion while pushing money out the back door. Best part (for them) is that such spending can be conditioned in such a way that it largely flows to the administration’s favored states and their constituents.
At the very end of the remarks on a listing, it says “streamline offers only.” Does that mean anything in particular?
Thanks to all who respond
[91] SX
“Shore Guy on the other hand seems mildly retarded.”
Are you channeling Jamil???
re: #125 – Shore. Railroad is a boondoggle of epic proportions for moving people in this country. No track system is standard and few are straight for example. Just try taking the train down the shore WTF I say to myself every time I do. You can drive in half the time.
Using the European model three hours seems to be the critical cutoff point, anymore than that and people will fly. To obtain the speeds of French and Japanese high-speed rail, we need dedicated straight track. To get dedicated straight track, we need a Federal government that is willing and able to step all over the environmentalists and the NIMBY activists. Japan and France have such governments we don’t.
This latest bill along with billions already wasted will not lay a single mile of dedicated track that is straight and high speed bullet train worthy. The government as well as the courts will see to it, there are already plenty of examples of the monies misspent.
The Bus is much more efficient and cost a heck of allot less. You can get a bus from NYC to Pittsburgh for $30 bucks a distance of 370 miles.
For journeys of 3 hours or less travelling intercity by first class on a train is far more civilized than travelling first class in a plane. Airplane travel has become a huge pain in the arse.
box (131)-
You are a modern day Ratso Rizzo.
“You can get a bus from NYC to Pittsburgh for $30 bucks a distance of 370 miles.”
I don’t think I could take a Greyhound from PATH to Pittsburgh without slashing at my wrists beginning at around Allentown.
Then again, one of the passengers might assault me in an attempt to steal my pancreas.
Nom [126];
“Acelas are always booked up.”
Of course they are. No perving or groping by ex-cons.
Students at Penn I believe said high speed rail for NE Corridor would run around $40 Billion. Dedicated track! New tunnels to bypass congestion, eminent domain for dedicated track etc. Project was estimated to take 2-3 decades. Google to learn more if interested.
112: Essex,
Here are some leads.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703313304576132291585938656.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
Wells Fargo CFO ousted. This should be interesting.
And you see a girl’s stolen body dancing through the turquoise,
And her footprints make you follow where the sky loves the sea.
And when your fingers find her, she drowns you in her body….
Now, for some juvenile humor at the expense of Harry Baals (pronounced Balls), feel free to snicker:
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A former Indiana mayor who won four terms in the 1930s and 1950s is proving less popular with modern-day city leaders, who say they probably won’t name a new government center for him because of the jokes his moniker could inspire.
Harry Baals is the runaway favorite in online voting to name the new building in Fort Wayne, about 120 miles northeast of Indianapolis. But Deputy Mayor Beth Malloy said that probably won’t be enough to put the name of the city’s longest-tenured mayor on the center.
The issue is pronunciation. The former mayor pronounced his last name “balls.” His descendants have since changed it to “bales.”
Supporters said it’s unfair that the former mayor can’t be recognized simply because his name makes some people snicker. But opponents fear that naming the center after Baals would make Fort Wayne the target of late-night television jokes.
snip
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41480994/ns/us_news-weird_news/
Toast [137];
China has high speed rail because if the government wants to put high speed rail they lay the course and break ground. No need to buy out landowners. No eminent domain or lawsuit over the same. No environmental impact studies about the habitat of the endangered warbling snow leopard beetle. Not to mention no need to set aside capital reserves or buy insurance against a mega-lawsuit if one of those bad boys goes off the tracks at 250 mph.
If China wants to flood a valley to build a dam, it is considered compassionate to give the valley’s residents sufficient notice to pack their sh!t and leave.
Perhaps in the past hours was the break point. Now? Driving to an airport, parking, getting into the terminal, through security (forget the flight time) getting from the airport to the city center can be 5 hours in and of itself. Add the groping, etc. and I will not fly if a drive would be less than 6 hours. If I could get to Grand Central at 8 p.m. and wake up in LA, why would I fly?
three hours
Top 3 Things I Hate About Jersey
—————————————
The Weather. The Cost of Living. The Politics.
91 essx. That wasn’t really called for. Imo Shore’s posts are 1,000x more interesting and thought provoking than your jaded depression sessions. Just my two cents.
$80 billion high speed rail is probably the most worthwhile plan I’ve heard since the presidential campaign promises to build smart grid. That’s how I know it wont happen.
Essex, Our 2 year countdown started the day I slipped and fell on black ice in my driveway in the winter of 2003. I saw stars man that hurt. We left Jersey in 2005.
#141 That’s Indiana humor. Fort Wayne would be totally okay with that. Remember, this is a state that has these high school mascots: the Delphi Oracles, the Logansport Berries and the Frankfort Hot Dogs. Hoosiers don’t take themselves too seriously.
Barb,
Are you going to come up to see our place once the contractors are done with the kitchen/bathroom?
So far, the contractor quotes have been quite reasonable and relatively close in price.
150. I would, thats no bs. Here’s my email: twikki2@yahoo.com.
We could use a law like this in the US for economists:
Romania may get even tougher on witches
BUCHAREST, Romania — There’s more bad news in the cards for Romania’s beleaguered witches.
A month after Romanian authorities began taxing them for their trade, the country’s soothsayers and fortune tellers are cursing a new bill that threatens fines or even prison if their predictions don’t come true.
Superstition is a serious matter in the land of Dracula, and officials have turned to witches to help the recession-hit country collect more money and crack down on tax evasion.
snip
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/08/AR2011020801293.html
146. He pays no attention to me.
148. I just want to spend less to live. And get warmer weather year round.
http://www.examiner.com/canada-celebrity-headlines-in-canada/keith-olbermann-lands-at-current-tv-msnbc-fiires-back
“officials have turned to witches to help the recession-hit country collect more money ”
What does Jertsey have that can be taxed? Big hair? High heels above a certain height? Tattoos?
Body glitter.
154, lots of alternatives out there. I highly recommend the Keys but I admit my prejudice.
Essex says:
February 8, 2011 at 10:27 pm
146. He pays no attention to me.
And the rest of us do?
This was a small item in the Bergen County Record this a.m. Are you ready to pay more property tax, homeowners?
Verizon stopped paying its local business personal property tax in municipalities throughout New Jersey based on its interpretation of a state statute developed nearly a century ago.
In its interpretation of the statute, Verizon claims that payment of the tax is not required if it determines that it no longer supplies dial tone and access to at least 51 percent of the local telephone exchanges in a municipality.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/passaic_morris/passaic_news/115541714_Haledon_considers_options_as_Verizon_stops_paying_taxes.html
NJE,
How are things like grocery shopping, medical care, etc.?
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