Housing Bailout #307b – “Sacrifice for the greater good”

From HousingWire:

Bernanke calls for nationwide REO rental program

The government should consider helping the nation’s vacant, unsold stock of foreclosed properties by supporting initiatives to occupy.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke believes that one aspect should be a government support program that allows renters to move into those houses.

In a letter Wednesday to ranking members on the House Committee of Financial Services, Reps. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., and Barney Frank, D-Mass., Bernanke said that inefficiencies in the foreclosure and mortgage origination processes are dragging on the economic recovery.

However, solutions are available, he added.

“Preliminary estimates suggest that about two-fifths of Fannie Mae’s REO inventory would have a cap rate above 8% — sufficiently high to indicate renting the property might deliver a better loss recovery than selling the property,” Bernanke’s staff writes in a supporting white paper.

“Estimated cap rates on the Federal Housing Administration’s REO inventory are a bit higher — about half of the current inventory has a cap rate above 8% — because FHA properties tend to have somewhat lower values relative to area rents,” they said.

In a scenario of declining house prices such as this, homeownership should be promoted, according to the white paper. Indeed, they argue that in many cases REO-to-rentals may be inappropriate. Yet unless mortgage origination requirements, with tighter underwriting standards, are loosened in the immediate future, borrowers may have little choice but to rent.

Furthermore, support for such a program will cost mortgage servicers, bond investors and even taxpayers. But it may be a sacrifice for the greater good.

This entry was posted in Economics, Foreclosures, National Real Estate, Risky Lending. Bookmark the permalink.

222 Responses to Housing Bailout #307b – “Sacrifice for the greater good”

  1. grim says:

    From the Huffington Post:

    Foreclosure Not Best Solution To Housing Crisis: Federal Reserve Report

    More than four years into the housing crisis, and after millions of Americans have lost their homes, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is finally taking a stand.

    Bernanke sent a Federal Reserve paper to the leaders of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Services arguing that relying heavily on foreclosures to deal with mortgage borrowers that can’t meet their obligations is “costly and inefficient” for the housing market because they can lead to deteriorating homes and weigh on the property values in the surrounding community.

    Instead, the paper encourages lenders to “aggressively” pursue loan modifications and for servicers to be given more incentives to seek alternatives to foreclosure.

    Foreclosures “can result in ‘deadweight losses,’ or costs that do not benefit anyone, including the neglect and deterioration of properties that often sit vacant for months (or even years) and the associated negative effects on neighborhoods,” the paper said. “These deadweight losses compound the losses that households and creditors already bear and can result in further downward pressure on house prices.”

  2. grim says:

    From Reuters:

    Fed says expand Fannie, Freddie role to aid housing

    The Fed, in a paper sent to lawmakers on Wednesday, outlined an array of steps that could be taken to help the housing sector, including allowing Fannie and Freddie to provide cheaper mortgages to a broader pool of homeowners.

    The two companies, the biggest sources of U.S. mortgage funding, were seized by the government in 2008 when they were on the brink of collapse. They have been propped up by $169 billion in taxpayer aid since then, making them a target of many on Capitol Hill.

    Even the Obama administration, in a trio of alternatives laid out early last year to reform the U.S. mortgage finance system, supported reducing the government’s role in housing finance.

    “It comes at a time that Congress has become quite skeptical of Fannie and Freddie and their role, and seems to be looking for ways to diminish their long-run role in housing finance, not increase it,” said David Resler, chief economic adviser at Nomura Securities International.

  3. grim says:

    From The Street:

    Fed’s Housing Fix Means Everyone Loses

    The Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday proposed policies that would force a recovery in housing, but cautioned that there was no single solution to the housing market’s problems and that everyone from investors to taxpayers would need to feel the pain.

  4. grim says:

    From CNBC:

    Housing Starts to Slowly Rise in 2012: Goldman’s Hatzius

    Housing starts have hit their low point and will gradually pick up this year, Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius told CNBC Wednesday.

    “We’re pretty confident that housing starts have bottomed at this point,” he said. “It’s going to gradually pick up as the still large amount of vacancies and excess supply comes down.”

    Housing prices, however, will continue to fall until hitting bottom in the second half of the year, according to Goldman’s forecast.

    Hatzius said the price bubble of 2006 has finally disappeared, and housing is now “fairly valued,” but there will be “some small declines in house prices for most of this year basically because of the excess supply that’s still out there. But we’re pretty confident that we’re pretty close to the bottom here.”

  5. grim says:

    From Bloomberg:

    Don’t Count on Housing Market to Lead Recovery: Edward Glaeser

    What will the New Year bring for housing markets? Prediction is a perilous business, but history and basic housing economics suggest that price changes will stay modest, and that construction will increase only slowly. The best that can be said about the current market is that it offers abundant affordability and that the broader economic recovery doesn’t depend on a big housing rebound.

    The most recent S&P/Case-Shiller housing-price data show a second month of seasonally adjusted price declines. The overall 20-city index dropped about 3.4 percent from October 2010 to October 2011, after falling less than one percentage point during the previous year. In nominal terms, the 20-city index is at the lowest point since March 2003, and in real terms, we’re below where we were in October 2001.

    When it comes to housing prices, it hasn’t just been a lost decade: Many metropolitan areas have had two lost decades. In nine out of the 19 Case-Shiller cities with data going back to 1991, real prices are lower today than they were 20 years ago. In four of those areas — Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and Las Vegas — real prices dropped more than 15 percent over that period.

    The disparate nature of those four cities reminds us that it is possible to lose big on housing in rapidly growing cities, such as Atlanta and Las Vegas, and in declining cities, such as Cleveland and Detroit.

    Prices always reflect the interaction of supply and demand, and whenever supply is high relative to demand, prices will be low. In Cleveland and Detroit, supply is high because the cities were built up during an earlier era, when the industrial Midwest seemed to have a rosier future. In Atlanta and Las Vegas, supply is abundant because there are few limits on new construction, and builders overestimated future demand. The cities that have experienced significant price gains are those that have either strong economies or pleasant amenities; either can boost demand, as can serious natural or regulatory restraints on housing supply.

    The biggest winners over the past two decades are Denver, Boston, Portland and New York. The California cities would also look better if 1991 hadn’t followed their late 1980s boom.

    History suggests that 2012 will see neither a big housing rebound nor a second crash. After the last housing collapse, which first bottomed out in April 1991, prices stayed almost perfectly flat for about six years. The Case-Shiller 10-city index was only 2.3 percent higher, in nominal terms, in April 1997 than it had been six years earlier, which meant that real prices had fallen by an additional 13 percent even after the first trough.

    Home sellers are often loath to take nominal losses, and that means they can sit on their property for years, keeping prices from dropping further in a market that otherwise offers enough inventory to prevent any major price upswing. Looking ahead, price swings in many markets will be limited by housing supply. In places such as Atlanta, Dallas and Phoenix, there are armies of home builders who would be delighted to supply housing once prices tick upward. Elastic supply always limits price growth — a market truth that should have deterred more home buyers in Las Vegas and Phoenix six years ago.

    Yet housing supply also puts something of a lower limit on home prices, at least in growing areas. Even in today’s depressed labor market, housing can’t be built for free and much of America is still growing. The Census reports that the U.S. had more than 240,000 more housing units in the third quarter of 2011 than it did six months earlier, and about 1 million more units than 24 months earlier.

  6. grim says:

    (cont)

    The biggest gift of the housing bust, however, should be wisdom. We should learn the folly of bribing Americans, through the home-mortgage interest deduction and the implicit subsidies offered by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, to borrow as much as possible to bet on the vagaries of housing prices.

    We should recognize that big leveraged bets on housing carry big risks. We also should recognize the folly of believing real-estate professionals, and other interested parties, who tell us that investing in housing is a sure path to wealth.

    Housing prices go down as well as up and they always have. You should never buy a house because you’ve been convinced that it is a great investment. In almost half of the Case-Shiller markets, prices didn’t even keep up with inflation over the past two decades.

    You should buy a house only if you have found a home that gives you the space and neighbors you need to live a good life.

  7. funnelcloud says:

    Grim #6
    Well said
    Good Morning Mike

  8. Mike says:

    Good Morning New Jersey

  9. Mike says:

    Hey JJ Get your get your copy of USA Today, headlines read “Bonds Outperform Stocks Over 30 Years” a line from the article states “No One Though The Tortoise Could Catch Up, And It Just Did”

  10. grim says:

    7 – I didn’t say it, but I agree, well said.

  11. grim says:

    9 – Contrarian indicator?

  12. AG says:

    I have no doubt in my mind that this nation is doomed. Best thing that could happen to us a 3rd party Ron Paul run. The upcoming war will distract the masses well enough. The level of corruption in this country is approaching 3rd world status. Puppet leaders and rigged elections. Rest assured that most people have no idea how bad it’s really going to get.

  13. Brian says:

    What’s the good in renting excess inventory? Why can’t they just sell them at firesale prices? You can spot the rentals in my neighborhood right away. They usually look like crap. Peeling paint, gutters torn off for years, missing roof shingles, lawns that consist mostly of dandelions. They make my neighborhood look worse. Landlords are usually good businesspeople so they don’t fix stuff unless absolutely forced to. It’s not profitable to put a new $10,000 roof on a place. I’m not a fan of this idea. I’d rather see them sell them off at rock bottom prices and have people buy them that might actually live in them and take pride in owning them and taking better care of them.

  14. BearsFan says:

    Grim, great articles as always…thank you!

  15. Fabius Maximus says:

    I like a good chuckle in the morning.

    “Interestingly, by using tax expenditures to support these families, Santorum would likely add significantly to the number of households that pay no income tax,” wrote Urban Institute resident fellow Howard Gleckman in the blog TaxVox.

    What’s more, Gleckman noted, “because [Santorum’s plan] cuts rates significantly but does not eliminate tax preferences — and even expands a few — it would very likely add trillions of dollars to the federal deficit.”

    http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/05/news/economy/santorum_taxes/index.htm?source=cnn_bin

  16. Confused in NJ says:

    Bernanke:
    Furthermore, support for such a program will cost mortgage servicers, bond investors and even taxpayers. But it may be a sacrifice for the greater good.

    He doesn’t say which Banksters the “Greater Good” is for?

  17. BearsFan says:

    Santorum==Bush III ?

  18. grim says:

    16 – Error in the capitalization of a proper noun, a minor grammatical error.

    Should have read:

    “… may be a sacrifice for the Greater Good [Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Goldman Sachs].”

  19. grim says:

    From Bloomberg:

    U.S. Apartment Vacancies Decline to a Decade Low, Rents Climb

    U.S. apartment vacancies dropped to a 10-year low in the fourth quarter, allowing for rent increases that are likely to continue this year, Reis Inc. said.

    The vacancy rate fell to 5.2 percent, the lowest since the end of 2001, the New York-based property research firm said in a report today. It was 5.6 percent in the previous three months and 6.6 percent a year earlier. The average monthly effective rent, or what tenants paid after landlord giveaways, climbed 2.3 percent from a year earlier to $1,009, Reis said.

    Rising foreclosures and stricter mortgage-lending standards have helped make rental housing the best-performing segment of commercial real estate for the past two years. The vacancy rate has fallen for seven straight quarters from a three-decade high of 8 percent at the end of 2009, according to Reis.

    “With the strong occupancy we had this year, we were really able to push rents,” said Lori Mason Curran, director of real estate investment strategy for the property arm of Seattle- based Vulcan Inc., which owns more than 500 units in the city that are more than 97 percent leased.

    New Haven, Connecticut, home to Yale University, had the nation’s lowest vacancy rate, followed by New York; Minneapolis; Portland, Oregon; and San Jose, California, according to Reis.

    Effective rents rose the most for the year in San Francisco and San Jose, which have had a resurgence in hiring by technology companies. Chattanooga, Tennessee; Austin, Texas; and New York followed.

    “The fact that New York City does not top the list either in terms of tightest vacancies or the strongest rent growth reflects how one of the largest rental markets in the U.S. has been buffeted by economic headwinds,” Calanog said. With job cuts by financial firms during the second half and the nation’s highest average effective rent, $2,876, “even New York landlords are finding it difficult to raise rents further,” he said.

  20. grim says:

    Jobless claims surprise, down 15k to 372k.

  21. grim says:

    From MarketWatch:

    December private-sector jobs rise 325K: ADP

    Private-sector payrolls increased 325,000 in December, led by the service-providing sector and small businesses, according to the ADP employment report released Thursday. The November level was revised to 204,000 from a prior estimate of 206,000. Markets look to ADP’s report on private-sector payrolls to provide some guidance on the U.S. Labor Department’s jobs estimate, which will be released Friday and includes information on both private- and public-sector payrolls. However, analysts have noted seasonal-adjustment issues that have led to past ADP estimates for December substantially missing the government’s data. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect the Labor Department on Friday to report strengthening employment, with overall nonfarm payrolls up 150,000 in December, compared with 120,000 in November. Economists also expect the unemployment rate to rise to 8.7% from 8.6%.

  22. Juice Box says:

    13 – He will call for bulldozers before fire sales. Asset price deflation
    cannot be allowed to happen it will sink reflate till the cows come home programs including the trillion or so JUNK MBS on the Feds balance sheet

  23. XXX says:

    Yet unless mortgage origination requirements, with tighter underwriting standards, are loosened in the immediate future, borrowers may have little choice but to rent.

    FHA???

  24. grim says:

    From Reuters:

    December planned layoffs lowest in 6 months: Challenger

    The number of planned layoffs at U.S. firms declined to its lowest level since June, suggesting ongoing improvement in the labor market although unemployment remains historically high, a report on Thursday showed.

    Employers announced 41,785 planned job cuts last month, down 1.6 percent from 42,474 in November, according to the report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

    But December’s job cuts were up from the same time a year ago, rising 31 percent from the 32,004 job cuts announced in December 2010. For all of 2011, employers announced 606,082 cuts, up 14 percent from the 529,973 layoffs in 2010.

    “Job cuts in 2011 were dominated by the government and financial sectors. These two alone accounted for 41 percent of all the job cuts announced last year”, John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement.

    The 183,064 government job cuts in 2011 represented a record high for that sector since Challenger began tracking it in 2002. And while the financial sector did not come close to its record high, annual cuts for the sector were 63,624, up 165 percent from 2010.

    “Unfortunately, these sectors are likely to continue to struggle in 2012. Washington is under immense pressure to cut spending and it looks like every deal to extend tax cuts, raise the debt ceiling and pass the budget will come with measures to cut spending, which can be expected to result in more job cuts,” Challenger said.

  25. bergenbuyer says:

    So who is my landlord? Bernanke? When my roof is leaking, do I go to my local branch drive-thru window and ask the bank teller to fix my roof?

    They should enlist eBay to set-up a bank owned auction section and just start selling the houses. If you win the auction, you have 14 days to close and wire the $, if you don’t have the funds, the property goes back on the auction site. All electronic, no people involved needing to check documents, you need to handle that yourself.

  26. SX says:

    24. It’ll creep back up, at least around here.

  27. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    (15) fabius,

    More surprised to see santorum advocating the tax policies of the left.

  28. gary says:

    Housing prices, however, will continue to fall until hitting bottom in the second half of the year, according to Goldman’s forecast.

    Wanna make a f*cking bet?

  29. Libtard in the City says:

    Grim and I already have!

  30. yo says:

    For those complaing about the poor not paying taxes.Try filling a 1040 for them.See why they end up not paying.

    Married filing jointly gets a credit of $11,600 which everyone gets.Unless you want to deny a low income this credit.

  31. gary says:

    The Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday proposed policies that would force a recovery in housing, but cautioned that there was no single solution to the housing market’s problems and that everyone from investors to taxpayers would need to feel the pain.

    Why should taxpayers be responsible for the ineptitude of others? If that’s the case, establish a poor law and treadmill and direct the vagrants to these facilities.

  32. Shore Guy says:

    “everyone from investors to taxpayers would need to feel the pain”

    Not all citizens, just the taxpaying ones?

  33. Shore Guy says:

    Santorum is a first-class putz.

  34. XXX says:

    #29 When do you determine of you win or lose?

  35. Shore Guy says:

    Here is a program for clearing housing stock and making the homes available for renters: give the empty homes to people who have shown fiscal prudence and the ability to manage housing by owning their own home for over 10 years, paid off the property, and acquired a positive net worth along the way. The people receiving the homes would have to rent them and could not sell them for at least five years, with the then-current owners receiving right of first refusal.

  36. yo says:

    You want everyone to pay taxes?Eliminate all tax credits for everyone.
    $11,600 for married couple,$1000 per child,$2500 tuition tax credit.

  37. Shore Guy says:

    Hey, why not eliminate all deductions and impose a 5% tax on first 1,000 of earnings, nothing on next $19,000.00, and find the necessary percentage on all income (regardless of whether it is cap gains, wages, interest, etc.) over $20,000? It makes everyone have some skin in the game, largely protects low income folks from being taxed while in poverty, and simplifies things to the point where completing tax forms is a real no brainer.

  38. Shore Guy says:

    Goldman Sachs, our egos are greater than yours. Our good is greater than yours.

  39. seif says:

    #38 everyone already does have “skin in the game” and some believe that lower income people already have MORE skin in the game than the wealthy:
    http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/a-christmas-message-from-americas-rich-20111222

  40. yo says:

    I will go with that!The Tea party will not.It is increasing taxes to their High income constituents.The low income don’t have any deductions just credits.$250 tax for the first thousand for everybody .

  41. JJ says:

    Even more amazing if you bought a 30 year Treasury on the first day of January 2011 you would be up 30% on that bond alone.

    Also just for fun let me show you my favorite long term muni I hold which has not been called.
    NEW YORK N Y G.O. SERIAL BDS SER. 1990 07.75000% 08/15/2023

    Think about it, locking in for 33 years in 1990 at 7.75% tax free. Hard to imagine anything beating it. I bought this one the morning after Lehman went BK at PAR!! Huge fire sale that morning with people selling everything. I was scratching my head when this 10K bond popped on my screen as I thought there was a catch. Too bad only 10K piece.

    Mike says:
    January 5, 2012 at 7:02 am
    Hey JJ Get your get your copy of USA Today, headlines read “Bonds Outperform Stocks Over 30 Years” a line from the article states “No One Though The Tortoise Could Catch Up, And It Just Did”

  42. homeboken says:

    Brian – Renting REO properties is just another attempt to kick the can. Your idea of fire-selling the REO properties would clear the market, but it would send massive negative reverberations thru Fannie, Freddi and the banks, which is precisely the outcome Bernanke is trying to avoid.

    Renting a home gives the Fed a chance that the market may recover and clear this problem for them. Of course it will never work and I guarantee renting REO properties will end up costing much much more and we will end up in the same place.

  43. Juice Box says:

    Also have to love this whole story from the Fed on how Fannie and Freddie are Hurting the Housing Market

    http://www.cnbc.com//id/45874510

    All spin against asset price deflation or disinflation of all prices across the board, the secret sauce of Bernake’s bailout lots and lots of inflation paying off yesterdays debts at 50 cents on the dollar.

    A congressional study done back in 2005 outlined the benefits of potential 30-50% dollar devaluation or inflation that would bring current account deficits in-line.

    It was only last year lots of talk from the O administration and the Republicans as well and legislation was introduced in Congress about unwinding Fannie and Freddie and dismantling the government mortgage explicit guarantees over the next few years.

    Bernake does not want that to happen because interest rates on mortages would rise well beyond what he can control by buying across the yield curve and would destroy his bank bail out programs. The 30 year mortgage would become an exotic and then housing prices would really deflate.

    Bernake’s hands are now somewhat tied due to Dodd-Frank in a way he cannot continue to bail out the bank and nonbanks like they did from 2007-2009 with the “unusual and exigent circumstances” clause in the law that empowered the Fed previously. The Dodd-Frank legislation passed last year prohibits the Fed from engaging in rescues of individual financial firms, such as it did with Bear and AIG. Also the law banned the Treasury Department from again using an emergency reserve program to backstop money market funds. The FDIC also now has to get Congressional approval before it can guarantee debt issued by banks.

    It’s going to be an interesting year.

    My prediction on housing for 2012 is we haven’t seen anything yet folks. Bottom’s cannot be built on shifting quicksand.

  44. 1987 Condo Buyer says:

    NJ State taxes: I do not think folks realize how “reasonable” NJ state taxes are, especially at $100k mark ($1,730 tax) . Compare to my brother in SI, who pays $4k property tax, NY state tax and 3% NYC tax.

    “Andrew Pratt, a Treasury Department spokesman, told us the department calculated effective tax rates for O’Scanlon, per the following income levels:

    $100,000: 1.73 percent
    $1 million: 6.88 percent
    $5 million: 8.5 percent
    $10 million: 8.72 percent

    Based on those numbers, someone earning $1 million is paying $68,800 in state income taxes, compared to $1,730 for taxpayers earning $100,000.

    For individuals with smaller incomes, the effective tax rate is even less. Taxpayers earning between $20,001 and $50,000 pay an effective tax rate of 0.7 percent, according to the state Treasury department.”

    http://www.politifact.com/new-jersey/statements/2012/jan/04/declan-oscanlon/new-jersey-residents-earning-1-million-face-effect/

  45. Anon E. Moose says:

    yo [30];

    The beauty and simplicity of a flat tax can’t be beat with a stick. No one is too good to pay something. There are no second class votes at the ballot bax, there should be no free pass before the tax man.

  46. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Carter Doctrine 2.0 to be announced by Chairman O later today.

  47. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    (31) gary,

    I nominate you to be in charge of the Panopticon when one finally gets built.

  48. Shore Guy says:

    “The beauty and simplicity of a flat tax can’t be beat with a stick. No one is too good to pay something.”

    Everyone should be paying something. Even at 5% on the forst $1,000 ($50 is what, like 5 packs of cigarettes?), people might begin to pay closer attention to government spending. When the spending is being funded from someone elese’s wallet, who cares what anything costs.

  49. Shore Guy says:

    forst = first in the land of the Android.

  50. seif says:

    “The beauty and simplicity of a flat tax can’t be beat with a stick. No one is too good to pay something.”

    lower income people pay sales tax and many pay payroll tax…if they are buying cigs they are paying a hefty tax there too. the line of thinking that poor people don’t pay taxes is incorrect.

  51. JJ says:

    Where do 401k contributions, Flex Spending, Muni Bonds, 529 plans, I Bonds, Savings Bonds, Transist Checks, IRAs fit in? Flat tax eliminates “below the line deductions” so as mortgage interest and charitable contributions but what about “above the line” deductions. If it ain’t considered income in first place there is no tax flat or otherwise.

    Shore Guy says:
    January 5, 2012 at 10:17 am
    “The beauty and simplicity of a flat tax can’t be beat with a stick. No one is too good to pay something.”

    Everyone should be paying something. Even at 5% on the forst $1,000 ($50 is what, like 5 packs of cigarettes?), people might begin to pay closer attention to government spending. When the spending is being funded from someone elese’s wallet, who cares what anything costs.

  52. gary says:

    Nom [48],

    With pleasure. And it can be done compassionately. Conditions don’t have to be harsh. Those in need will have to work for their keep; refusal to do so will simply result in an escort to the front door.

  53. Shore Guy says:

    “Panopticon”

    I know of some prisons that have been built on this general model.

  54. Juice Box says:

    re # 47 – We always need an enemy to rage against, especially now since the war against the Al Queda goat herders is just about over. An external enemy that the American policy can organize around, this time it will be disastrously high oil prices at home, that should make people forget about housing and unemployment.

  55. Shore Guy says:

    “and many pay payroll tax”

    Social security and medicare are designed to be benefit programs that those benefiting from pay to fund. So, do you liberals want social security and medicare or not? if so, yes people need to pay for them. If not, lets cut those taxes to zero –thus freeing people from the expense of paying for this benefit. If you do want the benefit, stop grousing about paying for it.

    Also, stop pretending that “payroll taxes” are income taxes as they are handled quite differently, including one’s employer paying half of them.

  56. Shore Guy says:

    How long before people are downloading “Bomb Iran” to their iPods?

  57. Nicholas says:

    Re #49,

    Have you stopped to consider the effect of taxing $50 from someone who only made $1000? Your “five packs of cigarettes” is also groceries for the week. Perhaps you haven’t had the luxury to live on subsistence wages but I have and it isn’t pretty.

    I don’t think your “flat tax” scheme is as well thought out as you purport it to be. I think it is a noble concept and I agree that everyone should participate at some level but there is a limit.

    Taxing those in the lowest bins will drive them from the visible economy to an underground economy. I was paid under the table for many years to avoid taxes and I know of people who still do the same thing today.

    I don’t know what the right answer is but I can tell you that taxing someone who barely has enough to feed themselves is not the answer.

  58. Shore Guy says:

    Seif,

    In fact, I would not object to eliminating payroll taxes entirely and funding Social Security and Medicare through the budget, and via income taxes — all we need to do is crank up the percentages some more. But, hey, if everyone is paying the same percentage rate, all is fair.

  59. Shore Guy says:

    “Perhaps you haven’t had the luxury to live on subsistence wages but I have and it isn’t pretty.”

    Indeed I have. And I have gone through a winter without heat, and gone hungry day after day and week after week. If you think $50 for a year is too high, make it $20. The point is everyone should pay some little amount. After that first $1,000, give people a free ride until they are above the poverty line. After that, they pay the same rate as everyone else. Of course the effective rates will be different.

    A person earning $21,000 (using my original proposal) would pay their $50, plus $200 on the $1,000 over $20,000 for an effective tax rate of 1%. Whereas, a person earning $200,000 would pay $36,050, or 18%.

  60. Libtard in the City says:

    Removing the loopholes and shelters would solve the problem. But the people who benefit the most from these loopholes and shelters are funding the rulemakers. Baa, baa, but my party is better than yours.

  61. Painhrtz - I ain't dead yet says:

    Speaking as someone who also lived on a subsistence wage for a good part of my childhood and college years. The best part about it is the motivation to not live at that level ever again. If you take care of all of someones needs what incentive do they have to be a contributing member of society they just become wards of the state on the backs of the productive. As a rider my mother never took handouts she worked two jobs instead. Felt assistance was beneath us. Getting back to paying for the unproductive now

  62. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Wow, NYT and MSNBC actually acknowledging the flaws in the “mobility gap” studies that the left are citing as proof that the US is a rigid class society.

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45883052/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times/t/looking-american-dream-move-canada/

    Apples and oranges are not the same fruit. Seems intuitive, but when one argues politics, well . . .

  63. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Good tax policy discussion today. My professors at NYU would be impressed (okay, only for one day, but impressed nonetheless).

    The thing to remember in tax policy however is that there is no right or wrong answer. And that is the confounding thing.

  64. Libtard in the City says:

    I think we should go all Thunderdome yo and simply abolish the government and the taxes that come with it. Who run Bartertown? Libtard runs Bartertown.

  65. seif says:

    legalize weed and tax it

  66. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    I don’t think this guy understands one of the central precepts of nompounding. And the posters took him to task for it.

    http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread398012/pg1

  67. gary says:

    seif [67],

    There’s something we agree on.

  68. deep throat (aka soccer dad) says:

    Next Presidential election should be a doozy. President DoNothing is nothing if not an astute politician. He would have us believe he has grown a set of balls with the appointment to the Consumer Protection Agency to ” proctect middle class folks.” Republican candidates are falling all over themselves to appeal to the extreme right to get the nomination; signing anti-abortion and no new taxes pledges. Romney said he would veto the dream act if it were passed. WTF? The yahoos in kentucky are already going to vote for him. Ya think he may be alienating the Hispanic bloc in advance for no perceivable reason. Just wax vague and then if by some miracle the bill were to pass, then veto it.

  69. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Good, but all too brief, article on one way to organize a nompound.

    http://www.shtfblog.com/how-to-organize-and-govern-a-retreat/

    From my perspective, organization is not really a problem, but site and participant selection is. Everything starts with the beginning; get that wrong and no amount of good organization will repair it.

    BTW, got another really good name for a nompound: a “doomstead.” Catchy.

  70. Shore Guy says:

    “I don’t think this guy understands one of the central precepts of nompounding.”

    So, guys? Guys! Like, I have this, like really great idea. First, we find a good piece of land, with water, and stuff. And, like we buy it, ya know? Then we stock it with food and water and things we need to protect it in case of like an emergency, right? Then after it is all set, we notify everyone else that if a dire emergency strikes we have a safe secure place where people could live for an extended period. Like, what d’ya think?

  71. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    yes, legalize weed and tax it, but then we ruin the benefit by declaring some form of civil right for weed smokers by outlawing drug testing by employers and making refusal to hire or employ weedsmokers a crime.

    You want your car’s airbags installed by a pothead?

  72. seif says:

    69 – i knew it would happen at some point! (i believe we are both G-Men fans, as well)

  73. Shore Guy says:

    Instead of the Homestead Act of 1862, maybe the Doomstead act of 2012?

  74. seif says:

    73 – i see your point but how do i know some drunk isn’t installing them right now?

  75. joyce says:

    67
    I like the idea of legalizing many things and taxing them for two reasons: I believe in freedom of choice, and I like the idea of the indirect excise/sales tax method for raising revenue.

    (I’m not saying this is your mindset necessarily) but I’m not a fan of “let’s legalize it so we can tax it”
    Do we HAVE to tax EVERYTHING? Do we HAVE to have to license almost EVERY activity/profession? etc etc (hypothetical/philosophical questions… at least in times such as these)

  76. Shore Guy says:

    “You want your car’s airbags installed by a pothead?”

    Yo! What are the choices, dude?

  77. Brian says:

    67 – seif
    Excess REO inventory could then be rented to growers for their indoor hydroponic grow farms.

  78. Shore Guy says:

    A “green” revolution.

  79. JJ says:

    Yes!!! Perhaps fill the airbag with bong vapors so I get a buzz to calm me down after it inflates.

    Shore Guy says:
    January 5, 2012 at 11:51 am
    “You want your car’s airbags installed by a pothead?”

    Yo! What are the choices, dude?

  80. seif says:

    79 – i think we are on to something. we could also set up “coffee shops” all over Bergen County making it a worldwide tourist destination, bringing in tax revenue from tourists and driving down the property taxes.

  81. chicagofinance says:

    Libtard in the City says:
    January 5, 2012 at 11:29 am
    I think we should go all Thunderdome yo and simply abolish the government and the taxes that come with it. Who run Bartertown? Libtard runs Bartertown.

    Stu: something to give you cold comfort as you seek a new tenant for your rental…
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mrJFf8lTk0

  82. joyce says:

    81
    Wait until the middle/lower class in Canada sees their paper wealth disappear when they’re real estate bubble bursts

  83. Shore Guy says:

    The taxes would rise because the towns would have become international destinations.

  84. yo says:

    #81
    Very disturbing stats

  85. JJ says:

    CHIFI, see BAC charging out of gate in 2012. Predicted to be the S&P 500 company with strongest earnings increase in 2012 and article today is calling their TRUPs a great buy.

    Meanwhile talk about insult to injury that trup voluntary call they did to swap out that expired at year end they swapped a few billion of bonds right at the bottom. Whoever swapped trups in 12/2011 is a sucker now. Almost as bad as deal GMAC and Ford tried to give bond holders, voluntary haircuts are interesting. If not enough people take them the company can fail, but if you hold out and company does not fail you do well as a result. Only the people who don’t help out get helped out.

    chicagofinance says:
    January 5, 2012 at 12:01 pm
    Libtard in the City says:
    January 5, 2012 at 11:29 am
    I think we should go all Thunderdome yo and simply abolish the government and the taxes that come with it. Who run Bartertown? Libtard runs Bartertown.

  86. Libtard in the City says:

    If you tax weed, it won’t impact the black market by even one joint. Nor will it raise much tax revenue either.

  87. Libtard in the City says:

    So tell me again, why are we taxing weed?

  88. Painhrtz - I ain't dead yet says:

    Nom google chrysler union potheads guess what they already are. Treat it as any oither form of intoxication on the job.

  89. yo says:

    Just as we tax alcohol and tobacco and eliminated the black market.ATFM?

  90. Libtard in the City says:

    Problem is as I see it, weed is just too damn cheap to tax and too damn easy to grow yourself. Put a tax on it and people are just going to grow it themselves. Especially if it’s not illegal yo. Sorry to be so….wait for it….blunt.

  91. Shore Guy says:

    Obama with a prepared address but a faulty TelePrompter:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMszKcpn2DU&feature=related

  92. Fabius Maximus says:

    Flat Tax
    I’ll skip the “is it regressive?” and “all income vs Earned income” discussions, the biggest barrier is the fact it will kill the corporations.

  93. Fabius Maximus says:

    #57 Shore,

    You Tube took it down the clip of McCain singing it.

  94. JJ says:

    Chrysler is bringing back the Dart!!! That was a press release a few months ago. I owned two dodge darts and both I junked running. One had 163K miles, was stolen once and recovered, survived a small fired, was attacked with a bat once in a parking lot and was in three major accidents and all three times it drove away from scense. Only reason I junked it was all the accidents and rust damage the body was falling apart and not worth repairing. Got orginal receipts from orignal owner and car made it from zero to 163K miles without a single visit to a mechanic and most expensive repair was $35 bucks.

    Dart will kill you honda/toyota crowds. Actualy the taurus used to be good too. Both my Dart and Taurus/Sable I got t-boned at 50 mph at dragged sideways down road and both times I drove away in car unhurt. God Bless Chrysler. Other than fact from 1975 to 2010 their cars stunk is no reason to hate them. Everyone can have a 35 year losing streak.

  95. Happy Renter says:

    More rentals make Happy Renter more happy.

  96. joyce says:

    94
    good points
    Plus, things like weed will never be legalized because that would force the govt to spend LESS on things like prisons and the police/DEA. All we will ever have is a society where more and more things are outlawed.

    Land of the free

  97. Bocephus says:

    99. Talk to me when they reissue the duster!

  98. Bocephus says:

    I traded a plymouth acclaim with 165k miles a crooked rear end.

  99. Shore Guy says:

    The government will probably offer Pintos to everyone.

  100. Shore Guy says:

    That, or Corvairs.

  101. JJ says:

    When it comes to housing prices, it hasn’t just been a lost decade: Many metropolitan areas have had two lost decades. In nine out of the 19 Case-Shiller cities with data going back to 1991, real prices are lower today than they were 20 years ago. In four of those areas — Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and Las Vegas — real prices dropped more than 15 percent over that period

  102. seif says:

    94 – it is also cheap to home brew but that hasn’t hurt beer sales. i’ve done it but Lagunitas does a much better job than me so I will gladly fork over the money to them and save the hassle.

  103. Anon E. Moose says:

    Nom [73];

    +1

  104. Brian says:

    My old ’63 impala. (parked at my parents lakehouse crapshack, 50 miles from a metropolitan area)

    http://www.cardomain.com/ride/180185/1963-chevrolet-impala

    Miss that car…

  105. relo says:

    100: Stu,

    If I read other sources correctly, one of the plaintiffs earned a law degree on the job and is now a judge in Cliffside. This is purely conjecture, but how much time would you guess he spent studying on the taxpayer dime and still cashed out with unused sick/personal days?

  106. Brian says:

    110 – fits into the whole legalize it/cars theme here today. It happens to be the same model year as cheech’s love machine.

  107. 3b says:

    My old Jeep Cherokee’s transmission needs to be replaced (apparently) Any thoughts on what that would cost nowadays, and if it is even worth it? 165k miles or so on it, and just replaced the brakes last June.

  108. 3b says:

    gary: The below item is for you. Just reduced to 425K sold for 665K in 2005, 11 and change property taxes. Blue ribbony train town etc.

    http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1048587&dayssince=&countysearch=false

  109. Brian says:

    113 – 3b
    search http://www.jasperengines.com. they give you a price on a replacement transmission through their website’s find a price configuration wizard. Then you can use their website to search for an installer. Maybe $2000 plus labor.

    I usually fix my truck no matter wtf is wrong with it. If I ever give up, my wife want’s a minivan.

  110. Libtard in the City says:

    Relo 111…I’ve heard enough. Similar perks exist for gubmint workers in New York with free unlimited use Metrocards. Gator and I pay about $5,000 per year to commute. I wonder if thay $5,000 is factored in to those BS studies they roll out every couple of months that claim their compensation is no better than the average private sector schlub.

  111. All Hype says:

    Libtard (117):

    I love that they mention the bathroom pipes are in place.

  112. Libtard in the City says:

    Wow…Less than 24 hours after our 1st floor unit was listed, it looks like we have a new tenant with +800 fico scores. That was easy.

    Thank you Obama.

  113. gary says:

    seif [74],

    Yes, G-men!! Giants 34 – Falcons 13

  114. Libtard in the City says:

    I think they were referring to the attic with the potential for 2 more bedrooms Hype.

  115. Juice Box says:

    re # 121- 19k taxes WTF?

  116. 3b says:

    315 Brian: Thanks for the link. Any thoughts on whether or not it is worth fixing at this point? Truck is 16 years old.

  117. relo says:

    117: Like the conveninet placement of the mtg. calculator to quickly compare monthly p&i < r/e taxes.

  118. All Hype says:

    Libtard:

    Agree with you about the pipes. For taxes appraoching 20k I would need mom and dad to move in with me and Mrs. Hype to afford the monthly nut.

  119. gary says:

    3b,

    I remember seeing bi-levels in sought after towns approaching 400K about 8 years ago and shook my head in disbelief. My, how the mighty have fallen. We’re approaching 2003 and still going.

  120. Anon E. Moose says:

    Lib [117];

    But the Stainless Steel and Hardwood is worth it, right!?!

  121. gary says:

    Stu,

    The monthly taxes for that house are more than the mortgage payments with 20% down. I love when the house tour guides throw out the “low interest rates” and “housing is very affordable now” talking points and conveniently leave out the property taxes from the discussion.

  122. gary says:

    Dear Sellers,

    Tick… tick… tick… tick…

  123. Confused in NJ says:

    Bring back the Nash Metropolitan with Austn Healy Sprite Engine & Lucas Pull Start Ignition. Loved that car. Went up snowy hills, when the Impalas & Fairlanes were in ditches.

  124. Mike says:

    JJ No. 99 That Dodge Dart Slant Six Cylinder was so easy to work on, you could even see the ground when you opened the hood!

  125. Libtard in the City says:

    Seems to be working for me in my rental. My $1200 SS six burner Peerless stove is like wife magic. Anyone who owns investment rentals should install one in their units immediately.

  126. Libtard in the City says:

    Gary. If that home sells for $375,000 I’m pretty sure those taxes will fall to like $9,000 with an appeal. Haven’t looked at the tax info as I’m busy, busy, busy at work today.

  127. Bocephus says:

    Pinto = volt

  128. Painhrtz - I ain't dead yet says:

    Cmon hype you live a little buy a ship anchor, tie it around your neck and jump in the ocean with the rest of us.

    Depreciating and rotting assets everyone is doing it.

  129. Libtard in the City says:

    Hype…This time next year, you could pay ME to live in my depreciating tax shelter.

  130. Libtard in the City says:

    That 375 wonder is assessed at 655,200K. I’m thinking that their hidden oil tank must have leaked? That’s what I’m guessing it is. Sold for 425K in January of 2005 though so still hard to gauge. Was listed July of last year for 500K.

    In other news, there is now a bidding war over our vacant unit. Ha ha. Who says realtors don’t provide value.

  131. seif says:

    Lib – what town are your rentals in?

  132. Brian says:

    123 – 3b
    What’s the car worth? Maybe $2000. Probably not worth it.

  133. Mike says:

    Brian Impala looks awesome!

  134. 3b says:

    #40 Brian: Its probably worth $1000-1200 (at most), my son has it now, he is in grad school; he does not have the cash for a new one, and I am not footing the bill for a new one. But I would pay to have it replaced, if I thought we could squeeze another couple of years out of it.

  135. chicagofinance says:

    “Well Mark, you would know about that…..”
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=j8Bc7eRTdWY

  136. 3b says:

    #26 gary: Take a look at listings in the land of unicorns now. Colonials now asking high threes, low fours, some dated, some reasonably updated, and a couple nice (IMO) those houses were selling at 500k and over at peak.

    I will probably be heading out to look after Super Bowl (of course), but in the land of Unicorns.

  137. JJ says:

    Some junk yards now in search of incremental income install used parts. Guy in Freeport Long Island installs the used engines and trannys he sells, gives a 30 day warranty and heavily advises you to sell in 30 days. After all is used part.
    Junk Yards by Shea Stadium and Hunts point do same thing. I got lucky on my old benz as I got the exhaust system on my benz installed used for $50 bucks at junkyard by Shea Stadium. Exhaust part was $200. At dealer was a $3,000 repair.

    3b says:
    January 5, 2012 at 1:24 pm
    My old Jeep Cherokee’s transmission needs to be replaced (apparently) Any thoughts on what that would cost nowadays, and if it is even worth it? 165k miles or so on it, and just replaced the brakes last June.

  138. Painhrtz - I ain't dead yet says:

    Nomad I don’t call that news I call it an additional reason for a constitutional ammendment defining perons a single autonomous agents and not corporations. Also another reason for eventual armed insurrection. But hey Santorum looks good in a suit fears the invisible sky wizard, loves baby jesus, hates gays abortion etc so he will win the SC primary.

    We are all f*cked by the idiots in this country

  139. Brian says:

    141 – sweet right? The camshafts installed in it were huge. the care used to shake back and forth at stoplights. It was loud as hell too. It was an implulse buy. I got it for $6000. Sold it for $6000 to a guy that drove down from Connecticiut to buy it. Previous owner did a pretty decent job restoring it. Odometer had like 225000 miles on it.

    One time, when I was driving through Ogdensburg, before I had it inspected a cop pulled me over just to check it out. He then stopped traffic so I could rip the tires. I was like “are you sure man?”. I was afraid it was like a trap or something.

    My house was sort of an impulse buy in 2006 too. That did not work out quite as well :(

  140. grim says:

    Wait until the middle/lower class in Canada sees their paper wealth disappear when they’re real estate bubble bursts

    Funny you should say this, but has anyone noticed that just about every recently taped/aired pro-real estate show on HGTV lately has been out of Canada.

  141. SX says:

    117. Nice place. No fears regarding schools. Cause if you were sending your kid to Pingry you’d be out $25k.

  142. SX says:

    147. Not too shabby. I was always a FORD guy myself. Still am. Dumped the BMW 330 for an 09 Bullitt. Weeeee

  143. PGtips says:

    I always thought that north NJ Re is very much affected from NYC and if Manhattan bottoms then that may bring a bottom in NJ. On the other hand, if Manhattan falls then this would mean a catastrophe to NJ prices. If Manhattan bubble pops then NJ should run for cover. Guess what:

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-04/manhattan-apartment-sales-fall-12-as-buyers-wait-out-turmoil.html

    This must be about the worst time to buy in NJ a second leg down is inevitable.

  144. grim says:

    I love that they mention the bathroom pipes are in place.

    C’mon, in Glen Ridge? Nobody is pulling copper in Glen Ridge, are they? This would be the first I’ve ever heard of that.

    Paterson? Irvington? Another matter entirely, those REOs are stripped bare, pipes, AC units (literally torn out, sent straight to scrap), cabinets, toilets, etc.

  145. Brian says:

    Grim –
    I saw in a previous post you did something with exterior waterproofing on your house. If you don’t mind me asking, what do they charge for something like that? Do they charge you by the linear foot or something?

    Where they removed my old oil tank, I have puddles on the floor of my basement during rainstorms. I put in a sump pump with my brother but I’d like to keep it from entering the basement in the first place.

  146. JCer says:

    [117] small lot, high taxes, too close to the montclair ghetto. Radiator heat, no A/C. Needs Bank approval, as-is? Am I close?

  147. joyce says:

    148
    Grim,
    And which country will HGTV go to next?

  148. Juice Box says:

    Shades of Robocop.

    Detroit, which has one of the highest crime rates of large American cities, will close the doors of its police stations to the public from 4pm each day, reopening 16 hours later at 8am.

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2082445/Who-gonna-Detroit-police-stations-close-doors-public-16-hours-day.html#ixzz1icMvgGcg

  149. PGtips says:

    [117] Nothing’s wrong with the Glen Ridge property. The usual as everyone noticed plus the houses in that area have been depreciating continuously. Glen ridge is a second tier school district (low 1700 sats) with high crime. What’s the surprise here?

  150. 1987 Condo Buyer says:

    HGTV, I believe their are significant tax or related incentives in filming there…

  151. Bocephus says:

    153. I assumed they meant pipes for future expansion.

  152. Juice Box says:

    JJ – this reminds me of one night out in the lower east side back in 1992 when I brought a two women back to my place in Hell’s Kitchen.

    Four Girls Rob Hobokenite’s Apartment

    Careful whom you bring home, boys.

    A 29-year-old Hoboken man met four girls on the corner of Thirteenth and Washington—after walking out of the Madison Bar and Grill on new year’s eve—and started chatting with them, according to a police report. After chatting for a while and exchanging numbers, he invited them back to his downtown Park Avenue apartment, police said.

    As he made out with the girl he had given his number to around 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 1, the other three roamed the apartment, police said.

    Unbeknownst to the man—who told police he was highly intoxicated that night—the three other women took an iPod, an external hard drive, an iPhone charger, a lose change jar, a pair of silver cufflings, a timex watch, a bottle of cologne as well as house- and mailbox keys from the apartment, according to the report. All the stolen items belonged to the man’s roommate who wasn’t home at the time, police said.

    After about 20 minutes, the girls left, telling the man they were just going for pizza and would be back soon, police said, but the girls never returned.

    http://hoboken.patch.com/articles/four-girls-rob-hobokenite-s-apartment

  153. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    (103) bocephus,

    I said the exact same thing when I heard about the Dart. I had a 1972 Duster.

  154. grim says:

    Locked in my refi, sub 4. Figured I might as well take it while I know I can still get it.

  155. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    (162) fabius,

    Old news. I said weeks ago that this would be an issue.

  156. grim says:

    161 – So they stole a Timex watch and some loose change?

    Who robbed who? I think he got the better end of the deal.

  157. JJ says:

    My scary one was a runaway crack ho. Generally speaking runaway crack hos are an accquired taste. She quickly realized that my spare change was actually only around 1.98 in pennies. But at five am in the morning my judgement was as impared as Enrons accounting.

    Juice Box says:
    January 5, 2012 at 3:47 pm
    JJ – this reminds me of one night out in the lower east side back in 1992 when I brought a two women back to my place in Hell’s Kitchen.

  158. Libtard in the City says:

    Rental is in Montclair.

    PGtips “Glen ridge is a second tier school district (low 1700 sats) with high crime. What’s the surprise here?”

    Sure it is. Where do you live? East Utopia?

  159. grim says:

    Updated NJ Monthly High School rankings are going to be released this year, right?

    Hold on to your wallets and appraisals.

  160. grim says:

    By the way, Glen Ridge ranked 4th in the state in 2010, up from 5th in 2008…

    http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/top-high-schools-2010.html

    I don’t care if you don’t like the methodology, home buyers think the NJ Monthly rankings are gospel.

  161. The Original NJ Expat says:

    You want your car’s airbags installed by a pothead?

    No worries. Once they legalize weed everyone will drive real mellow. No more need for airbags.

  162. SX says:

    163, you and me need to drink together sometime. I’m started to think we shared a past.

  163. SX says:

    Grim, schedule a GTG…call it the Winter Carnival. Perhaps we can Bowl? Lebowski style. MARK IT ZERO!!!!

  164. grim says:

    Need to give long lead times to get good turnout. We would need to schedule at least a month out.

  165. PGtips says:

    “I don’t care if you don’t like the methodology, home buyers think the NJ Monthly rankings are gospel.”

    Are you talking about home buyers or fools? Only the second are looking and NJ monthly and buying houses with 2003 prices. That’s why sales and prices are down. That’s why Glen ridge has taken a greater hit than millburn, chatham, etc. People who are going to spend 500K+ usually do their homework. How condescending…

    http://mathacle.blogspot.com/search/label/High%20School%20Rankings

  166. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    ‘[174] SX

    Awww, yeahhh. That’s what I’m talking about.

    Back in h.s., my friends called mine the Gray Ghost because it had a cracked manifold and was pretty loud.

  167. PGtips says:

    By the way the SAT list above excludes the top schools in NJ –eg the magnet schools of monmouth, etc- If you count those Glen ridge might not even make it to the to 10% of NJ schools. 4th school hahaha. Hasn’t ever occurred to you how odd this is?

  168. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    I used to live in Philadelphia, but I would never let anyone call me a Philadelphian.
    This is one reason why:

    http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/police-flyers-fans-hunt-attackers-ny-fan-war-165707839.ht

  169. 3b says:

    #76People who are going to spend 500K+ usually do their homework. How condescending…

    Ah, so many times they do not, that explains way so many over paid, and are now hurting.

  170. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [180] redux

    Checked my own link and it was 404. So here is the current blog but you have to scroll down to the link about the Flyers fans that beat up a Rangers Fan who was also a NJ Cop and a former Marine.

    http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/?urn=nhl-wp21671

  171. JJ says:

    “I wanted a happy culture. So I fired all the unhappy people.”
    —A very successful CEO (who asked not to be named)

  172. Fabius Maximus says:

    Bookie news of the day.

    Paddy Power refunds Rick Santorum wagers
    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71114.html

  173. PGtips says:

    181 So many are hurting? Didn’t you hear foreclosures are down, prices are stable and Glen ridge is 4th in NJ?

  174. SX says:

    A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture in California when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced toward him out of a cloud of dust.

    The driver, a young man in a Brioni® suit, Gucci® shoes, RayBan® sunglasses and YSL® tie, leaned out the window and asked the cowboy, “If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?”

    Bud looks at the man, who obviously is a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, “Sure, why not?”

    The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell® notebook computer, connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3® cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on
    the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on
    his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.

    The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop® and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany .

    Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot® that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses an MS-SQL® database through an ODBC connected Excel® spreadsheet with
    email on his Blackberry® and, after a few minutes, receives a response.

    Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet® printer, turns to the cowboy and says, “You have
    exactly 1,586 cows and calves.”

    “That’s right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves,” says Bud.

    He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on with amusement as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

    Then Bud says to the young man, “Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?”

    The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, “Okay, why not?”

    “You’re a Congressman for the U.S. Government”, says Bud.

    “Wow! That’s correct,” says the yuppie, “but how did you guess that?”

    “No guessing required.” answered the cowboy. “You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You used millions of dollars worth of equipment trying to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don’t know a thing about how working people make a living – or about cows, for that matter. This is a herd ofsheep.

    Now give me back my dog.

  175. Jim says:

    Grim, or anybody who has the ability to get me information on a listing in Randolph NJ, It is WAY OVERPRICED, the address is 41 Sandra Lane. We put in an offer and have gotten zero response. Mold has overtaken the basement in main house, and house has not been winterized. I do realize it is in the first steps of foreclosure, is it possible to find out the bank? Any and all info will be appreciated.

    Thanks, Jim

  176. JJ says:

    Blankfein: “We need the insurance money AIG owes us immediately.”

    Paulson: “I will see what I can do.”

    Paulson calls Tim Geithner, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

    Paulson: “I want you to lend AIG $85 billion so it can make insurance payments to banks.”

    Geithner: “OK. Let’s arrange a meeting with AIG.”

  177. Shore Guy says:

    He is lucky that the only thing she took half of was his money.

  178. Shore Guy says:

    He also better not date Lorena Bobbitt. Otherwise the guys on the tour will start calling him stubby.

  179. Juice Box says:

    350 school board members purged in NJ? NJEA must really hate the GOV now.

  180. Shore Guy says:

    Juice,

    What happened?

  181. Juice Box says:

    Apparenly criminal background checks on all.of them.

  182. Painhrtz - I ain't dead yet says:

    Jim as the loan randolph resident still posting we have skittles pooping bears and you want the morris county tax board site on the side bar

    The bears ate the unicorns

  183. SX says:

    I agree that school board people should be screened. Why not. But anyone else feel like the US is quickly becoming a police state? Seriously makes me a little nervous sometimes. Oh well. Just stay inside away from “trouble”….la la la la la

  184. chicagofinance says:

    You know what? If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear. Before you sh!t your hick overalls, how about we slit the throat of a few scumbags first……

    SX says:
    January 5, 2012 at 7:13 pm
    I agree that school board people should be screened. Why not. But anyone else feel like the US is quickly becoming a police state? Seriously makes me a little nervous sometimes. Oh well. Just stay inside away from “trouble”….la la la la la

  185. Libtard at home says:

    PG tips – What’s your beef? Name me some other towns with better schools, shorter commutes and better pricing. Towns where my child would not have to wear kevlar to walk to school safely. Or do you suggest I move back to Jersey City where my neighbor’s derelict 4-year old named Bebo nearly burnt my brownstone down when he lit his mattress on fire when he should have been in the free head-start program. Who cares if McNair, the best Charter School in New Jersey is there. It doesn’t mean krap to me if my child is raised in a town where 70% of the population don’t even attend school frequently enough to graduate. I’m all ears buddy.

  186. Libtard at home says:

    Stu says:
    June 18, 2009 at 8:59 am

    “As someone who works closely with Kodak on the industrial side (even been up to Rochester a few times), they are so far behind the curve with every new technology that they are most likely doomed in the long term. Their big mistake was not embracing digital and relying on their virtual monopoly around traditional film supplies. One by one they are selling off pieces of their company. It’s a real shame as they have incredible scientists working for them. It’s their management that is piss poor. Last time they invited us up their, the digital press they were trying to sell us wouldn’t run. And this is right in their own facility. Call it anecdotal, but it was quite embarrassing.

    I can’t speak for bonds as I am not knowledgeable in this area, but I wouldn’t touch their stock with anything but money I was willing to lose.”

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/kodak-bankruptcy-photographers-mourn/2012/01/05/gIQAxiXjcP_blog.html

  187. Shore Guy says:

    Regarding the background checks:

    Гражданин. беспокоиться нет. Партия будет исправить все.

  188. Shore Guy says:

    In mod for cyrillic.

  189. Jim says:

    Painhrtz

    Re197

    I checked that out beforehand, but I cannot find what bank owns the mortgage, and who started the foreclosure proceedings. If you know where to direct me ,I would appreciate it.

    Thanks, Jim

  190. Shore Guy says:

    Stu,

    Good call on Kodak. As I recall, they couldn’t even meet your basic needs for press supplies and you needed to look elsewhere to avoid being left high and dry.

  191. Shore Guy says:

    At $.40 a share, I think the company is worth something like $115mm. Why someone has not swooped in to buy the place, shut it down, and sell off the pieces amazes me.

  192. scribe says:

    JJ,

    #167 – You can do better than that :)

  193. Libtard at home says:

    Someone will soon Shore. I bet in the next couple of days.

  194. Painhrtz - I ain't dead yet says:

    Jim I checked the morris county sheriff sales and did not see it listed. Last sale was for 360K in 2003. there is a sewer lien to US Bank 10/21/2011, foreclosure proceddings were started 7/2011 US ban as trustee for Chevy Chase financial.

    Here si how I got it, morris county tax board, do a property search go to the county clerk records type in previous owners name. Good luck with your search.

    Watch out for bears and don’t get to attached

  195. Shore Guy says:

    Hey Stu,

    I have some money in my ashtray, and some under the couch. I bet there are some scattered bills in various jackets and pants. If everyone here chips in and we leverage the rest….

  196. Painhrtz - I ain't dead yet says:

    damn you sam adams for my bad typing

  197. Shore Guy says:

    Hey Stu,

    I have some money in my ashtray, and some under the couch. I bet there are some sca-t-tered bills in various jackets and pants. If everyone here chips in and we leverage the rest….

  198. Painhrtz - I ain't dead yet says:

    shore only if we can go 450-1 like mf global i have some Euros left over from my trip to germany

  199. Shore Guy says:

    Who else is in?

  200. Libtard at home says:

    Apparently, I need to save my cash to move to Summit or Chatham.

  201. Jim says:

    Painhrtz,

    Thanks for your help, the home owner thinks house is worth a half of a mil, with a garden of mold growing out of control in basement.

    Thanks, Jim

  202. BearsFan says:

    198 – “But anyone else feel like the US is quickly becoming a police state? ”
    — Yes.

  203. SX says:

    perfect band to cap off the cartalk today:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOJvtulmEZI

  204. Fabius Maximus says:

    #216 SX

    I think you need to keep it in the US.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I75W9vkTm-8

  205. Fabius Maximus says:

    And before Shore starts complaining, in my view, the best song he ever did, it was downhill (and a very long drop) from here.

    Beyond the Palace hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard Girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors And the boys try to look so hard
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3t9SfrfDZM

  206. SX says:

    218. ahhh my friend. I saw him in 1981 at the Checkerdome in St Louis (and of course later on…a few more times) of course you are right he is the man in terms of car songs, with respect to Sammy Hagar, the thing is though he still makes amazing music. Devils and Dirt in my humble opinion is a masterpiece.

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