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Final doom is nigh.
From the Star Ledger:
Businesses have positive outlook for N.J. economy for first time in 8 years
One in five New Jersey businesses polled by the New Jersey Business & Industry Association expects to increase hiring next year, according to the Trenton-based advocacy group’s annual survey.
Eleven percent of participants in the September survey, most of them small companies with fewer than 50 employees, expect to make workforce reductions.
Both of those measures have shown improvement since last year’s study, when 15 percent planned to grow their workforces and 13 percent were forecasting cuts. And for the first time in eight years, the number of businesses with a positive outlook on the state’s economy outnumbered those with a negative outlook.
“The findings of this year’s survey are encouraging,” said NJBIA president Philip Kirschner, who released the findings this morning at a news conference at the group’s Trenton headquarters. “Business is picking up, business confidence is rising and growing numbers of businesses believe New Jersey is on the right track.”
grim (2)-
And these positive feelings are based on what facts?
Most of the small business owners I know are focused on either shutting down their businesses or getting out of NJ.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Happy Thanksgiving all!
Abbott And Costello Explains Socialism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ib9N7L9y08&feature=related
Good Morning New Jersey And Happy Thanksgiving!
#2 Improve,emt?? Seems like it barely budged. Happy Thanksgiving all!!
Happy gobble gobble peeps!
This is what everyone that is going to rebuild next to the beach needs to built.
Is a concrete shell with the ground floor for storage/garage only. The rest of the place is concrete. I first saw this house in the web a few years ago, when they use to rent it. Is built in the Florida Gulf Coast.
http://www.domeofahome.com
Happy Thanksgiving
An economy to be thankful for:
http://www.businessinsider.com/thanksgiving-americas-economic-recovery-2012-11
And a decreasing deficit to boot:
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/11/about-that-ballooning-deficit/
#12 Geez talk about a fluff piece. Somebody OD’d on too much turkey already. No mention of all the negatives, Gobble, gobble!!
Happy Thanksgiving All! Here’s some music to enjoy on the holiday!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6ry4k84coQ
The ones smoking the hopium are the ones who eventually are left holding the bag.
Happy Thanksgiving All!
I always ask someone else to hold my bag. Happy T’anksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving, some food for thought!
http://youtu.be/81U07CqFPYs
(12)
The author claims the deficits are not shrinking, but shrinking as a percentage of GDP (nice slight of hand). Government spending (which is in a huge deficit) adds to GDP. So the numerator and denomintor are both increasing. Big whoop.
Happy Thanksgiving
Hope you Jets fans ate before the game and that dinner was enjoyable.
Happy shopping day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7PQT-T75WwE
Nom,
It’s still a long season to go but if the Pats stay healthy and keep playing this way, they’ll run the table and hoist a trophy in the end. Should we set up for another Giants-Pats Superbowl? ;)
[25] Eddie,
Ugh. I hope not.
Redux
Not as in a Pats-Giants Super Bowl. As for Brady hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, from your lips to God’s ear.
Sandy smashes homes, FEMA smashes home values.
From the Record:
FEMA to update flood zone maps for N.J. shore towns
Some residents of New Jersey’s coastal towns may soon be required to purchase flood insurance, and not just because of the recent devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy.
By next year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is scheduled to complete a major update of flood zone maps for shore towns, some of which haven’t had them revised in decades.
FEMA regional specialist Barbara Lynch tells The Press of Atlantic City that the new maps should be ready by the end of next summer. They use laser technology that can determine land elevation to within six inches.
That could mean homeowners who haven’t had to buy flood insurance may have to. In the wake of Sandy, that prospect may not be disagreeable to many.
How about we take money wasted in subsidies to the Federal Flood insurance programs and spend it on engineering programs and planning programs designed to protect property (beach replentishments, dunes, etc.) We may also have to come to terms with the fact that the barrier islands are not stable permanent pieces of land. Plant life on the island has adapted to living on an island that is constantly changing. Maybe it’s time humans do the same.
In rebuilding, respect changes in land, sea
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20121121/NJOPINION03/311210002/In-rebuilding-respect-changes-in-land-sea
Nom,
If was say, the Pats vs. anyone in the NFC East except the Giants in the SB, I would hope for a 70 – 0 Pats victory. I hate.. HATE the Eagles and Cowboys. If it was anyone else in the NFC, I’d have to go with the NFC team. Sorry. :) lol! Anyway, the Jets s.uck! Holy c.rap!
Maybe it’s time humans do the same.
Rebuilding is an individual decision, based on land ownership, funded individually, and of course approved by zoning.
However, if what you are saying is not to rebuild, who compensates the owner for their property? Does the collective “we” purchase the property from the owner, to turn it into parkland? Also, the more local “we” end up paying higher taxes, as the current budget is divided amongst fewer remaining homes.
That’s the rub here, it’s easy to say don’t rebuild when it’s not you that owns the property (and may have paid a pretty penny for it).
And similarly, changing zoning with the intent of making a previously buildable lot now unbuildable is essentially the illegal taking of property, even worse than eminent domain, as the owner wouldn’t be compensated.
Unfortunately, perhaps the correct decision was never to allow the land to have been build on, or owned by the public, in the beginning. Hindsight is blah blah blah.
If we want to talk about FEMA having any business insuring shorefront properties, I’m with you here. I could probably be persuaded to believe that the original intent of FEMA flood had nothing to do with insuring multi-million dollar oceanfront palaces. Why not have FEMA step back and allow the private market to cover? (other than flood insurance costs probably going to double or triple, but hey, that’s what happens when you lose a subsidy).
[27] Eddie,
I can live with that. I’m happy to have you on board if its boys or skins (the iggles are no threat to make the playoffs–Mrs Deplume may have to be a Pats fan for the duration).
Grim I love the Jersey shore. I was there 3 times last year. Once in Seaside Park and twice in Wildwood. I have many relatives that own property and boats down there. I spent many summers there. I want to see it rebuilt.
What I’m saying is, now that this storm is fresh in everyone’s mind, and we have witnessed what has worked and what hasn’t, we should rebuild….just rebuild smarter.
Money, time, and effort just seems better spent on preventative measures. They say cleanup efforts may cost billions. It might have been cheaper to build smarter rather than insure everything, then rebuild it after it’s destroyed.
And yes, I believe that the NJ Highlands Act was pure robbery made legal by legislature.
Compare this article a few months ago:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/emergency_beach_replenishment.html
to this one:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/nj_sand_dunes_protected_shore.html
Lesson learned.
[27] Eddie,
I do have to throw the Jets fans a bone. If the Jets run the table AND the Pats lose every remaining game, the Jets make the playoffs.
So its not mathematically impossible. There is a faint glimmer of hope for the greenheads.
That said, I hope the Pats end the Jets’ hopes next week.
Somebody should drive a bulldozer through McGreevy’s house in Plainfield (does he still live there?) and tell him he can’t rebuild anymore, as the land is necessary to protect the sensitive Plainfield ecosystem.
Whatever happened to the old real estate adage, “don’t fall in love with the view unless you own it?”
Win or lose the Jets Flight Team is awesome!
Nom,
If the Jets run the table AND the Pats lose every remaining game, the Jets make the playoffs.
We have a better chance of seeing Romney get elected. ;)
Anybody need one of these for their kids.
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Come & get it 100 bucks, fine shape net is like new , must never have used.
You can take apart but will still need pick up or van.
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Fact is, very few coastal areas are appropriate for human habitation. The gubmint should not be in the business of insuring high-risk properties- in any kind of flood zone- period. Let the private insurance market handle this stuff, and you will immediately see an appropriate number of homes in flood zones…being owned by people who understand the risks and can afford the premiums.
The current system is just another example of private risk being borne by the public at large. We simply can’t afford it anymore, and it’s not a legitimate activity for the gubmint to be involved in.
Then again, the doling out of gubmint cheese in the aftermath of completely predictable disasters is a great way to buy votes, so expect FEMA-type feelgood programs and gubmint insurance of deathtrap homes to expand.
Where’s my stinking FEMA trailer?
Clot “We simply can’t afford it anymore, and it’s not a legitimate activity for the gubmint to be involved in.”
That and a host of other things, fat chance common sense will win out. Smoke’m if you got’m.
41 Ding! Ding! Ding!
Fast Eddie,
I do not understand why advocates of assistance programs such as FEMA can only reply with emotion-driven comments during times of disasters like this… while ignoring the fact, as you said, that if the areas were only 25% as much populated (if that) the damage would be minimal.
(45)
I meant to reply to (40)-(41) Ernest Money
joyce emotion works, weighing the cost vs benefits is beyond the general populaces thought process.
Thank you Captain obvious. You are ignoring the fact that the islands are already built up. If any of us were over 150 years old, or could go back in time, we should make the argument that we should not build on a barrier island.
Making that argument now is a bit late and doesn’t help anybody.
Is your FEMA comment directed at anyone in particular? I don’t remember anyone here advocating for FEMA with emotion driven comments on this blog.
45.joyce says:
November 23, 2012 at 11:56 am
Fast Eddie,
I do not understand why advocates of assistance programs such as FEMA can only reply with emotion-driven comments during times of disasters like this… while ignoring the fact, as you said, that if the areas were only 25% as much populated (if that) the damage would be minimal.
Brian been doing the shore from Belmar to Wildwood for 50 years. Unfortunately we are not in a financial position to rebuild our memories (sad yes) nor re insure what are sure losers of home sites.
If you are bored Highway 36 is open again. Take a ride and what is left of Sea Bright.
http://photos.nj.com/star-ledger/2012/11/state_highway_36_reopens_in_se_7.html
Morsi’s Wiki entry has been updated.
“5th Dictator President of Egypt”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Morsi
I’m all about saving money Mike……..
http://blog.nj.com/ledgerletters/2012/11/after_hurricane_sandy_examinin.html
“Dunes protect us …
Ongoing assessment of Hurricane Sandy’s damage confirms that recently replenished beaches and maintained engineered beaches and dune systems provided significantly better protection and minimized inland damage to homes and coastal infrastructures than adjacent unreplenished, nonengineered systems.
The cost savings to businesses, insurers, municipalities, the state and the federal government are extensive. Bradley Beach Mayor Julie Schreck said, “The dunes cultivated several years ago protected not only private property, but public property and infrastructure, including the sanitary sewer system, roads and sidewalks.”
Brian,
My comment was made in general. So what if the islands are already built up. FEMA was created in the late 1970’s. Perhaps, your commet is a bit late and doesn’t help anybody.
If people had to pay market value for flood insurance, they would be forced to not build or build with superior materials. What is wrong with that? Should the local, state, and federal govt keep pouring money into the areas of Jersey that flood even when it’s just a large rain storm? (e.g. Fairfield, Little Falls, etc etc) How much is enough? The concept of the govt buying them out of the properties is ludicrous because those properties are borderline worthless.
48.Brian says:
November 23, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Thank you Captain obvious. You are ignoring the fact that the islands are already built up. If any of us were over 150 years old, or could go back in time, we should make the argument that we should not build on a barrier island.
Making that argument now is a bit late and doesn’t help anybody.
Is your FEMA comment directed at anyone in particular? I don’t remember anyone here advocating for FEMA with emotion driven comments on this blog.
Wildfires, tornadoes. flash floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, environmental disasters, sure private insurance market will handle all of these risks and make all of the insured whole.
[53] Joyce,
Fabius is a huge FEMA fan. He is of the opinion that we were all helpless waifs until FEMA came along.
(54)
One can buy insurance for almost anything they want. Your problem is not that private parties won’t offer insurance… but that it will be expensive. Coming from someone in Florida, I’m not surprised.
(56)
To continue… this is similar to health insurance with respect to the recent “debate” on contraceptives. It was never about access; it was about who was going to pay for it.
(54)
Not to mention, how is the government going to “make everyone whole” when we’re broke? Not that it’s the government’s job to do that anyway.
Well, I guess it is in the age or bailouts and moral hazard.
New thread up!
They’re already rebuilding Joyce. So, at this point the debate about whether or not to do it is pointless.
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