From Bloomberg:
New Jersey Property Taxes Rise to Record as Growth Slows
New Jersey’s average residential property-tax bill rose 1.6 percent to a record $7,885 last year as most towns abided by Governor Chris Christie’s 2 percent cap on the levies, slowing the growth rate, according to state data.
The average homeowner paid $126 more than in 2011, the smallest increase in at least five years, according to the Community Affairs Department. New Jersey residents pay the nation’s highest average real-estate levies, according to the Washington-based Tax Foundation.
“By any measure, the property-tax reforms have been a resounding success,” Community Affairs Commissioner Richard Constable told the Assembly Budget Committee May 9. “This success is measured against a cumulative average increase of 70 percent in the 10 years before Governor Christie took office.”
The average property-tax bill in 2011 was $7,759, 2.4 percent more than in 2010, state data show. Along with the property-tax cap Christie won in 2010, he and the Democratic-led legislature passed a pension overhaul in 2011 that requires government workers to pay more toward retirement and for health-care benefits. Constable said that measure will save New Jersey’s 566 municipalities $543 million in fiscal 2014.
…
While the rate of property-tax increases may be slowing, the net amount paid by New Jersey homeowners rose almost 19 percent during Christie’s first three years in office as he cut rebate programs, NJ Spotlight, a nonprofit research group, said May 6. Under Christie’s predecessor, Democrat Jon Corzine, the net amount paid rose 6 percent over three years as rebates offset rising levies.
First, mf’er.
[62] [prior] pain
Hey, I keep saying when I’m in NJ an have asked of you for delivery. So far, nothing.
And I am in Rutherford all day tomorrow. So no excuses.
The disclosure, buried in a 156-page bond prospectus for investors, also casts doubt on one of the key commitments Christie and leading Democrats made to public employees as part of the 2011 health and pension reform: Workers would shoulder a greater share of pension costs in exchange for the state making required payments to the cash-strapped pension fund.
The Christie administration warned potential investors earlier this month that future pension payments — estimated to grow from $1.7 billion next year to about $5.5 billion by 2018 — will drain resources and “create a significant burden on all aspects of the State’s finances.”
“No assurances can be given as to the level of the State’s pension contributions in future fiscal years,” the prospectus reads.
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2013/05/fulop_ill_work_hard_for_suppor.html#incart_m-rpt-1
Former Goldman trader wins in JC.
lots of info required for the refi this time. last time just filled an app and they called my job. that was that, back then. shopping around, rates are much the same. they haven’t asked for 401k info. then again they can see that i could pay it all cash. i follow jj’s, so will keep my dough in the mkt and won’t cash out to pay mortgage off
France in recession again. Whoodathunkit? That Hollande is a genius, I tell ya.
freedy (4)-
Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.
y’all see that Rumsfld article in the WSJ about meetings? hilarious. article made me wonder what has had greater impact to the economy: free phones or two wars?
JC is a preview of what the whole state will look like in 10 years: the ultra-rich, living in small enclaves surrounded by the ultra-poor.
Nom wow you lawyers sure are surly in the morning. Hey just giving you the oppoprtunity to go even or do you have so little faith in your beloved B’s. Shame that won’t be on NESN I love watching that homer Edwards meltdown when they lose. Unfortunately I wont be in the state this afternoon heading to Albany, hey if you give me 2 weeks notice I can clear my calendar freaking hard to schedule something with the twins.
I just paid cash for my place. I wanted a mortgage, but getting one on a storm damaged condo that is a non primary residence is a bit of a headache. Plus I have Sandy grants I applied for and if you do a home equity loan it screws with my grant. Also turned down the SBA loan. NYS considers loans against house as income believe it or not. So I am stuck as I dont want to borrow against house. Also wife still wants to trade up. So I may do the loan on that house. and dont want other loans.
I recall seeing so many Hampton Houses in foreclosure in 1992 from traders who could have paid cash in 1986 but did the 5% down and let it ride in the stock market. The folks who sold stocks and paid cash hung on. The folks over leveraged in margin and helocs got crushed.
If I dont get trade up I should do the 100K at 1.99 and buy munis at 4%. Arbitrage.
But sadly that loan would be only 2k a year interest, even someone in the 40% tax bracket would only get a 800 buck a year tax write off
anon (the good one) says:
May 15, 2013 at 8:01 am
lots of info required for the refi this time. last time just filled an app and they called my job. that was that, back then. shopping around, rates are much the same. they haven’t asked for 401k info. then again they can see that i could pay it all cash. i follow jj’s, so will keep my dough in the mkt and won’t cash out to pay mortgage off
Pain check it out. Stumbled across this gem this morning.
http://www.sussexcountyjustice.com/home.html
http://www.sussexcountyjustice.com/guns.html
http://www.sussexcountyjustice.com/about.html
Reading the TIGTA report on the IRS’ treatment of conservative groups. I figure I will get some questions tomorrow about it in Rutherford. And what I found interesting was the similarities that this episode had to other IRS actions that had no other purpose than to play hide-the-ball.
re #3 – Essex – Most states are singing the same tune on pension shortfalls, estimated to be about 4 trillion combined. I think Detroit will be one to break the civil service unions back on their entitlement mentality and in many cases the states constitution or state laws like NJ has provisions to guarantee the pension shortfalls.
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130405/METRO/304050363
re 3 9 – There are rich people living in Jersey City?
City data has a nice map if you need to find them.
http://www.city-data.com/income/income-Jersey-City-New-Jersey.html
Juice/Essex,
Regardless of where each of us stand politically on the issue of pensions, the one thing that is certain is that the taxpayers (call it the state if you’d like) can’t afford to pay them. The shortfalls are becoming so large, even a federal bailout might not be possible. This leaves shrinking the size of government and the (so-called) services it provides as the only option to pay for it. Unfortunately, the pension system is setup like a ponzi. It requires the newer hires to pay for the older retirees. If you reduce the number of new hires, then you make the shortfall even greater.
Let’s call a spade a spade. The public sectors’ retirement benefits only got that way through union endorsements of the politicians who made promises in exchange for votes. They essentially bought their votes knowing it would cause a problem down the road (of course, when they were no longer in office). And the unions bought it hook, line, and sinker. If I was confident that the money I put into my 401K wouldn’t be there when I retired, I would choose not to contribute to it. It doesn’t matter if my employer offered a 1000% match. It would be too good to be true. The math used to calculate the pension growth is too good to be true, but the unions chose not to pay attention to it. Votes and endorsements. Votes and endorsements.
The shortfall in NJ (including medical) is approximately 85 billion. If every single penny of state revenue went to making the pension whole (translation – no public worker in the state gets paid during this time period), it would take two and one half years to do so. That’s how big the hole is. You can try to blame the state for not making their contributions, but the real culprit is that the employees didn’t contribute nearly enough to their own retirement. Not even close. And the math behind the pension growth (8-10% annual growth) would have made Madoff blush.
Unfortunately, the workers will claim they were promised this! But ultimately, the taxpayers know that the contract was krap as do the public sector workers, deep down inside. If it were me, I would have stopped working the moment the state chose to delay their contributions.
Ultimately, the end of this decade will be marked by some serious protests in NJ and in Illinois and California and in New York. I don’t doubt for a minute that the public workers will all walk off their jobs simultaneously to protest down in Trenton for what they were promised. If the MTA did it stranding the people who they needed the most support from, then I don’t doubt for a minute that the rest wouldn’t (even though the MTA protest backfired). Whatever the outcome is, it definitely will make for some serious popcorn munching television viewing.
Thanks for posting about this, I would love to read more about this topic. Two things I like about the post, one it is straight forward and two it does not attempt to promote anyone’s position particularly. Thank you for the info grim.
Wait a minute, you mean there’s risk in stocks? 15-20% annual returns are not guaranteed?
“I recall seeing so many Hampton Houses in foreclosure in 1992 from traders who could have paid cash in 1986 but did the 5% down and let it ride in the stock market. The folks who sold stocks and paid cash hung on. The folks over leveraged in margin and helocs got crushed. “
Oddly the higher the price the greater the potential for loss. If you bought 100K of MBIA bond last month it would have cost 72k. If you bought 100K of MBIA bonds this week it would cost 108K. Defaulted bonds usually pay out 15 cents on a dollar.
Therefor you max loss on 100K MBIA bonds last month was 57K, your max loss today is 93k.
Citi at 50 a share is a lot more risky than Citi at $1 dollar a share if you are buying $5,000 shares.
Same goes for housing. Non bubble as a basic asset with no tax considerations a POS cape is worth 250K tops near me. It bubbled up to 450K at one point, now they are like 340K., also stocks have become a bit more risky as percentage wise they are are larger portion of assets. My stocks although I was not a big buyer, I still kept 100% of my 401k in stocks and put the max in every year that alone is a huge difference in value than five years ago. It is unrealized money but most folks 55 and over to stayed the course in stocks in 401K are sitting on over one million in stocks. Most folks 55 and over dont have anywhere near one million equity in their houses.
Statler Waldorf says:
May 15, 2013 at 10:48 am
Wait a minute, you mean there’s risk in stocks? 15-20% annual returns are not guaranteed?
“I recall seeing so many Hampton Houses in foreclosure in 1992 from traders who could have paid cash in 1986 but did the 5% down and let it ride in the stock market. The folks who sold stocks and paid cash hung on. The folks over leveraged in margin and helocs got crushed. “
15-20% annual returns are not guaranteed?
Tell that to the fat b@stards currently trying to sell their p1ss smelling dumps at 2006 prices.
$126 increase year over year. However small, how is NJ going to clean up this mess?
“Regardless of where each of us stand politically on the issue of pensions,…”
“the real culprit is (that)the employees…”
Your argument is a tad simplistic not entirely convincing. I don’t defend the employees and would agree that the system is broken. It is so for a multiplicity of reasons.
[13/14]
It has occurred to me that deliberately underfunding pensions isn’t just good politics, it’s also a bipartisan recognition that if things get worse, a federal bailout will be all but a certainty.
In that vein, it has seemed to me that politicians are banking on the fact of a federal bailout.
Hurry up or be priced out forever.
Builder Confidence Improves in May
May 15, 2013 – Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved three points to a 44 reading on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for May, released today. This gain, from a downwardly revised 41 in April, reflected improvement in all three index components – current sales conditions, sales expectations and traffic of prospective buyers.
“Builders are noting an increased sense of urgency among potential buyers as a result of thinning inventories of homes for sale, continuing affordable mortgage rates and strengthening local economies,” noted National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Chairman Rick Judson, a home builder from Charlotte, N.C. “This is definitely an encouraging sign even amidst rising challenges with regard to the cost and availability of building materials, lots and labor.”
“While industry supply chains will take time to re-establish themselves following recession-related cutbacks, builders’ views of current sales conditions have improved and expectations for the future remain quite strong as consumers head back to the market in force,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe.
Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for 25 years, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.” Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.
All three HMI components posted gains in May. The index gauging current sales conditions increased four points to 48, while the index gauging expectations for future sales edged up a single point to 53 – its highest level since February of 2007. The index gauging traffic of prospective buyers gained three points to 33.
Looking at the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores, no movement was recorded in the Northeast, Midwest or South, which held unchanged at 37, 45 and 42, respectively. Only the West recorded a decline, of six points to 49 in May.
Editor’s Note: The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index is strictly the product of NAHB Economics, and is not seen or influenced by any outside party prior to being released to the public. HMI tables can be found at nahb.org/hmi. More information on housing statistics is also available at housingeconomics.com.
20
That one line taken out of context might be a tad simplistic. Re-read the rest of the post and you’ll find multiple reasons.
re #23 – 4 Trillion no problemo uncle Bernake will just wire it over.
#21…I think that will most likely be the case, we’ll have housing and student debt as pre-cursors. There may be PBGC implications, not sure how that works for gov’t pensions, but like the MAC with NYC in the 70’s, there will be a chance to overhaul everything.
Rather than print the money, we’d all be better off fixing the problem. Nah, that makes too much sense.
And trust me. I don’t blame the employees. I blame their unions. Things can change, but there is no political will to do so. Better to kick the can down the road.
On the mortgage refinance front, we are on schedule to close some time next week. I actually had to write two separate letters to the loan officer. One, to explain a gambling win, and the other to describe two recent credit card promotions I took advantage of. My loan officer said that a DNA sample was next. Really!
Ok NJREreporters…infrequent poster, frequent reader here. Been renting in Brigadoon for the past 7 years, and at the age of 38, I’m about to become a first-time homebuyer!
We’ve saved up, conditions seem right, house we liked came on the market, and our offer was accepted.
So here’s a question (maybe one of many), our realtor, who we don’t like, is advising us against using the uber-inspector. She doesn’t know him, but thinks its like getting a CAT scan for a cold. It seems to me that it’s more like getting a really good inspection for the single largest purchase we’ll ever make.
Is there any rational reason why we wouldn’t use the uber-inspector?
[25] 1987
If you think about it, the “full speed ahead” on spending is the antithesis of the “starve the beast” (“STB”) argument. The fallacy behind STB is that government, unlike an organic or corporate organism, can continue to survive without food by changing the rules to produce its own food, or take food from others.
So the left, in opposition to STB, instead goes the other direction by running up the tab and forcing the opponents into relenting or defaulting. And when you have a greater number of recipients of government largesse, you kind of know how this will end.
Is it any wonder why the rich are jumping ship???
29 – none I can think of, unless you have someone as good who charges less. absolute no brainer to hire the person you perceive to be the best, all things considered.
Yup! She wants a kickback from her inspector. The Uber’s prices are very fair. We might have played him up a bit, but he really IS good.
[29] daddyo
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, take advice from a realtor. Hasn’t reading here taught you that? If you are in the brig, I hope you aren’t using the guy we fired. Outright lied to us and got busted for it, so he missed a couple of nice commissions.
In this environment, having a good “Deal Killer” inspector will give you more insight and perhaps leverage to get concessions, or even out of a bad deal.
That said, I have little more respect for home inspectors. I have discovered lots of things they missed or got wrong. Further, the new trend is for “remote” inspections where the lender sends in their own to take pictures and someone in an office looks at them and provides diagnoses. Lots of overinclusive, worst-case mistakes in these reports. So they are a headache for sellers but a boon for buyers who may get an ally in the bank to help them get concessions.
[29] daddyo,
And I hope you are getting out of that south side slum, and going somewhere classy like North side.
Comrade,
There’s a good number of people who can’t jump ship cause their income (and some of their wealth) is 100% dependent on “full speed ahead.” And of course it’s not just dependent on the fiscal situation but also the current monetary, legal, tax, regulatory systems remaining in place, if not expanding.
We’re moving a few blocks over to Willow Grove. We actually like the South Side! Tamaques has a nice feel to it, and we are closer to the turf fields where we spend most of our time.
And we can afford a lot more house there too.
Only thing I can think of is many first home buyers think “used” houses have to be in new condition. Or watch to much HGTV. I have seen first time buyers go a little nutso.
Home inspection is for foundation, leaky roof, termites, bad wiring, etc. Not a free for all to write up everything in the world.
I used my own UBER inspector on my condo and it turned off the buyer he only fixed one single thing on list. Last time I used same UBER inspector seller gave me money off as he was not that bright.
I say go full monti and write it up and try to get money off. But dont be suprised if it does not help you get money off. It is 50/50. I got a new toliet out of my inspector, but toliet cost the same as inspection. So inspection was free and I got some piece of mind. So it was worth. Last time I got $3,700 off from inspection which was sweet
daddyo says:
May 15, 2013 at 12:13 pm
Ok NJREreporters…infrequent poster, frequent reader here. Been renting in Brigadoon for the past 7 years, and at the age of 38, I’m about to become a first-time homebuyer!
We’ve saved up, conditions seem right, house we liked came on the market, and our offer was accepted.
So here’s a question (maybe one of many), our realtor, who we don’t like, is advising us against using the uber-inspector. She doesn’t know him, but thinks its like getting a CAT scan for a cold. It seems to me that it’s more like getting a really good inspection for the single largest purchase we’ll ever make.
Is there any rational reason why we wouldn’t use the uber-inspector?
Some wacky Glen Ridge traditions…
Every day until the end of the school year, the home of a different second grader gets flocked. What does this mean? It means their lawn is covered in plastic pink flamingos during the cover of night.
Another thing that I find really cool is that Gator Jr., now in 2nd grade, will have a pen pal from his next school (grades 3 through 6) for the rest of the semester. He will spend the last day of this school year at his new school trailing his former pen pal. What a cool orientation program.
We are very happy we moved there.
And Nom, Jr., is quite the soccer phenom. In 6 games, he has 12 of his travel teams 22 goals and an assist on nearly all of the others. Pretty good for a 7 year-old playing in U9 against some tough competition. The team is 4-1-1. The other GR team is 6-0-1. It looks like things bode well for the future of GR soccer. Unfortunately, Gator likes hockey more than soccer and will be playing travel hockey in the Fall to the detriment of the other soccer team mothers and fathers who are surprised I’m not pushing him towards soccer. The kid can play whatever he likes the most. Well as long as private lessons are not involved.
JJ,
I got $7,000 off of mine and the knowledge that my home was well insulated. This was a big deal to me as the multi does not have an ounce of insulation between the aluminum siding and the plaster walls.
#29..”CAT scan for a cold”….yeah a $500,000 cold….btw, H Williams Paving is now working on the 6th driveway on my block….where is my commish???
What flight does the Glen Ridge U9 team play in? If he dominates that much, it may be worth your time to play for the SDA club team in Montclair. I think it’s better to play with talented kids in the same age group than less talented older kids.
Also – anyone have a secondary inspector recommendation? Uber-inspector is booked / away in our timeframe…
Realtor trying to influence the inspector? Nah that would be illegal.
[38] lib,
Hey, he scored on me once. That qualifies as phenom. Let me know when he needs an agent.
Looks like it is over for Bitcoin.
The Department of Homeland Security has frozen an online trade route between US citizens and MtGox – the world’s largest exchange of crypto-currency Bitcoin.
The move will be interpreted as an opening skirmish in a battle to control the electronic cash, which has exploded in popularity and so far avoided regulation by governments.
The feds confirmed an investigation is underway after it emerged a “seizure warrant” was filed against Dwolla, a US-only mobile payments service used by Bitcoin traders.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/15/mt_gox_us_court/
B9 EW and B9 EB. A Sones Soccer coach offered him free play on one his ‘elite’ teams, but it’s 45 minutes away each way. That simply ain’t happening. Jr’s lucky enough I drive him to the park. My folks would have made me jog there.
Daddyo,
How do the flights work. Is there a legend for the codes?
[10] Pain – LOL. I used to love watching Bob Rodgers practically cry on NESN every time the Yankees beat the Sox. I was really, really sorry when he got fired for cutting out of Spring Training to coach his beloved (maybe too beloved) boys youth basketball team. My favorite part of every Yankee win was his cry-baby whining on the post game show.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Rodgers
Shame that won’t be on NESN I love watching that homer Edwards meltdown when they lose.
[38]. Lib,
Here is something for lil gator to aspire to. In my last year of youth hockey, I held a league record: most minutes in the penalty box. So he can be like me; the happy Gilmore of youth hockey.
[36] daddyo,
You have a thing for busy streets. Your last house was on a pretty busy street, and Willow Grove is a cut thru btwn Rahway and Lambert Mills.
[10] pain,
I have faith, I just don’t want to jinx them. After all, it’s bad luck not to be superstitious.
On related note, saw Silver Linings Playbook a few months back. Wife is from Philly and I think she may have known someone in the flick. Anyway, a sub theme was about sports obsession and superstitions, and it went to my thesis (hardly original as it turns out) that superstitions, especially sports related ones, are a form of OCD. Made the movie more enjoyable.
Willow Grove is a bit less busy then Grove, thankfully. And the house is set back enough with a big back yard that it was worth the trade off. We’d probably be out of our price range for the same house on a side street. That said, the house is still probably priced at the median for the street. Lot of big knockdowns, and plenty of 7 figure deals there. We just completely ran out of room in our current house.
As for flighting, 509B07 would be 5=2005, 09=U9, B=Boy, 07=7th flight. Flight 1 is the highest, then you move up to EDP and MAPS, etc.
SDA has a good club team program now, and their montclair facility is right next door to GR. Probably worth a test run there. We have some SDA trainers in our town, and they are very good. The owner, Ash, doesn’t hire many muppets.
Gator JR has taken some classes with the SDA in Clifton. They are cheaper, air-conditioned and we like that the facility is one undivided field. The bubble (which is walking distance to our home) can get really hot and is divided up so it’s really noisy and there is too much ball chasing during practice. IMO of course, but then again, so is everything I write.
what is up with travel teams? such a big waste of money and time. I mean I can understand the kid loves sports and all that but why do parents have to get involved.
The soccer moms and dads are the worse. I recall when my oldest was in first grade she was on the soccer team. Games were at nine am and I got stuck driving her to the game. Thank got practice was during work after school.
So I would swing by dunkin donuts get a nice x-large french vanilla coffee, set up my chair, get out my wall street journal and my blackberry to catch up on email and surf the web and the other parents would give me dirty looks. WTF they rotate players in and out of game and with all the breaks it is like pro-football, 15 minutes of play for every hour. Then you get the occasional idiot dad running up and down sideline. Heck I snapped a shot or two each game.
Whole thing reminds me of my sports nut nephew who sent me his resume to apply for an internship. It read, I kick ball, I throw ball, I catch ball, I told him I got no balls that need to be kicked, thrown or caught in the office do you know how to do anything in an office if so put it on your resume. I actually have never hired a male intern or college graduate. Unless I get a job at the Jets or something with all the glass windows at work I dont need them playing touch football in the office.
Of course there will be a public union bailout. the only question is whether they get to that one first or the student loan bailout.
JJ,
My kid is a sports nut. Not much I can do about it. When the other kids watched Barney and the Wiggles, he watched SportsCenter. Trust me, I don’t push him. But he dominated in rec so I have to put him with tougher competition to shrink his ego. So far it’s working in hockey. In soccer, not so much as he is faster and has a harder left than most. He is also a harder worker than most. He makes me proud, but I don’t say a word at games besides complaining to the other parents when their kids don’t pass.
I think your claim as the first person to ever fcuk their mother is dubious at best, but further, wholly inappropriate for a public forum that wishes to maintain a family friendly atmosphere.
Scrapple n’Ricin says:
May 15, 2013 at 6:59 am
First mf’er.
My kids are soccer nuts. My 8 year old will get up at 7am on weekend mornings and watch premier league games for hours, and he catches the fox soccer news update every day before school. We’ve worn our lawn down to a dirt patch playing mini-games.
He was an introverted social disaster until he started getting good at soccer. Now he is one of the most outgoing kids we know, and all his confidence is wrapped up in the game. Travel fees are such a small price to pay for that.
Plus, my wife and I personally love watching and coaching soccer, so we always look forward to games, regardless of the drive. If you don’t like the game, it’s a totally different story.
I personally love kids sports. Mainly because it gets the kids out from behind their televisions. Nuff said.
Thank God I never had to play organized sports as a kid. Hockey in its purest form is ment to be played in the street with a roll of con ed tape as a puck and checking into oversized american cars while dodging traffic, basketball was ment for the playground and baseball ment for jumping the fence and playing on some other guys field.
Dad was at work or on in the recliner with the undershirt on and a Reinhold watching the races on a black and white tv while reading late edition of Post while Mom cooked dinner.
Oddly and this is very odd even for me. It is more important to LOOK like you play sports than to PLAY sports. I know a few guys, asian, middleeastern short, a little heavy that are ten times better than me. I am just a lousy sports player. But man of man do I look good doing it. Even when I went on field for Jets games in last few years folks thought I was an ex-ball player. Walking up sidelines I was shaking hands with fans hanging over edge. My wife told me not to do that. I was like look who am I to ruin their day, if shaking my hand makes them feel good I will do it.
I personally would like to see all the screaming kids back in front of their TVs so I dont have to listen to them. With headphones of course. Who wants to hear their shows. Maybe in a closet with door shut so I dont have to see them. The heck with it, just grind them up and put them in Yips daily special
Libtard in the City says:
May 15, 2013 at 3:02 pm
I personally love kids sports. Mainly because it gets the kids out from behind their televisions. Nuff said.
stu (14)-
Yet, they still call Meredith Whitney nuts. This will all devolve into a violent civil war.
“Let’s call a spade a spade. The public sectors’ retirement benefits only got that way through union endorsements of the politicians who made promises in exchange for votes. They essentially bought their votes knowing it would cause a problem down the road (of course, when they were no longer in office). And the unions bought it hook, line, and sinker.”
My daughter got a lot from youth sports. Here’s how it turned out:
http://www.hwsathletics.com/news/2013/5/9/WSLX_0509132008.aspx
I will not brag any more on this on grim’s dime. I promise.
Meat,
I pictured a battle scene in Braveheart when viewing that link. lol! A guy wouldn’t think about crossing her the wrong way! :)
http://ecreditdaily.com/2013/05/feds-earn-exxonlike-profit-student-loan-interest-rates/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ecreditdailycom+%28eCreditDaily%3A+the+Latest+Consumer+%26+Credit+Industry+News+%26+Trends%29
You can’t make this up .Student loans
#27 Lib
“And trust me. I don’t blame the employees. I blame their unions.”
I don’t think you can blame the unions. They have a mandate to look out for the interests of their members. The blame has to go to fully to the political side of the table for the contract negotiations and for mismanaging the funds.
It is the same argument the Eddie Rays of the world make. It is not their job to worry if tax revenue meets expenditure, their focus is to make as small a contribution to the revenue side as possible. The expenditure side of the equation has nothing to do with them.
[65] febus,
I wouldn’t say it has nothing to do with us, only that it is beyond our control.
Overthrow the gubmint. Anarchy now!
It is the only way to keep the leeches from bleeding us dry.
I see here running around. Did she get a scholarship?
I will admit one thing. I was dirt poor in HS and sports are mainly for rich or middle class kids.
They are very expensive to be in, involve parental involvement and since very few folks go pro or even olympics the only purpose they serve is to get a scholarship to college. Since I went to college for free I could care less about a scholarship. I was offered a Lacrosse scholarship. My Mom while she was alive, smarter than me talked me out of it. She is like first of all you never played Lacrosse your only purpose is to get hit with sticks and hit people with sticks, you are going to get injured and you have to sign a waiver and I have no money to send you to doctor, second you go to school for free. It is a fake scholarship, school is just going to pocket your financial aid money, third with practice you have to quit your part time job so you are out $100 bucks a week.
So I go back to coach and ask him all that and he says, yes you have to quit job and I say you know what I dont want to try out for team. He goes well you dont have to try out you already made team. I am like exactly what are qualifications? He goes you are six foot two inch 190 pounds, in shape and guy on team told me you ran cross country in HS and you can run all day and from intramural football you like to hit and hurt people. What more is that your job is just to stand in middle and hit people as they come by and be a tackling dummy in practice. Hopefully you never go near the ball.
My buddy had that spot in North Carolina, he blew out his knew in three months and lost his scholarship and was thrown out of school. Took five years to graduate as he lost a semester during a huge knew surgery.
College sports involve a few truly gifted players, a lot of good players and some goons like me to be tackling dummies in practice and to play in garbage time
Scrapple n’Ricin says:
May 15, 2013 at 4:24 pm
My daughter got a lot from youth sports. Here’s how it turned out:
http://www.hwsathletics.com/news/2013/5/9/WSLX_0509132008.aspx
I will not brag any more on this on grim’s dime. I promise.
“Let’s call a spade a spade. The public sectors’ retirement benefits only got that way through union endorsements
Look just because most people in unions are african americans there is no reason for that language
More horrific logic. Because the expeditures of govt rise unabated, those who are robbed at gun point to fund the govt should just go along to get along?
If the union leaders actually looked out for their members (and not just themselves), they would not agree to LIFO nor would they continue to accept greater and greater future promises of compensation that are mathematically impossible (penstion, HC).
65.Fabius Maximus says:
May 15, 2013 at 11:19 pm
#27 Lib
“And trust me. I don’t blame the employees. I blame their unions.”
I don’t think you can blame the unions. They have a mandate to look out for the interests of their members. The blame has to go to fully to the political side of the table for the contract negotiations and for mismanaging the funds.
It is the same argument the Eddie Rays of the world make. It is not their job to worry if tax revenue meets expenditure, their focus is to make as small a contribution to the revenue side as possible. The expenditure side of the equation has nothing to do with them.
@SenSanders: The federal deficit is expected to shrink to $642 billion this year, half of what it was four years ago.
Can’t argue with tweets
The deficit is coming down too fast, too soon, we need to spend more.
joyce (70)-
Hard to argue with a self-loathing collectivist.
anon [71];
@SenSanders: The federal deficit is expected to shrink to $642 billion this year, half of what it was four years ago.
A favorable comparison only against 2009, Obama’s first stimulus-infused year in office with its $1T budget deficit.
Here’s the data from the White House itself: Deficits 2001-2008 (in $ millions): 128,236; -157,758; -377,585; -412,727; -318,346; -248,181; -160,701; -458,553 — avg $250 B
And 2009-2012: -1,412,688; -1,293,489; -1,299,595; -1,326,948 — Avg. $1,333 B
Forgive me if I’m not enraptured with Obama/Pelosi/Reid the deficit hawks. To a socialist like Sanders, I could just imagine his exasperation (‘What more could they want!?!’).
The current gubmint has no legitimacy. Therefore, it has no right to exist.
Until we reclaim our right to overthrow the current mess and establish something that does more than grease banksters and depend upon the patronage and votes of public unions, things will continue to deteriorate.
The best we can hope for is that the economic collapse that is 100% guaranteed to happen will trigger the chain of events that lead to the overthrow of the gubmint.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The cuts in government spending in the U.S. have been larger in percentage terms than in the U.K. or the euro area, where fiscal austerity has received more attention, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren told an audience in Milan. Rosengren said fiscal restraint is one reason the U.S. economy’s recovery has been “quite slow” — in the 1982 recovery, government spending at this stage of the recovery had increased by 20%, whereas in this recovery, spending has dropped by more than 5% over the last 15 quarters. He said the “miss” on the Fed’s goals on unemployment and inflation can be in part blamed on the fiscal restraint. “Contrary to the notion that policy has not succeeded, I would actually say that monetary policy has been quite effective in offsetting the contractionary effects of recent fiscal policies,” Rosengren said. He said highly accommodative monetary policy is currently appropriate
moose (75)-
All the collectivists share two things in common:
1) to them, all money is theoretical
2) they don’t care where or how the gubmint obtains it
I am on the front lines of this……do people understand how much stuff was sold in late 2012 with the sole intention of getting a clean 15% long-term cap gain treatment? A one time event……think about all the stories that were publicized about once in a generation turnover of Hamptons trophy real estate……
anon (the good one) says:
May 16, 2013 at 9:51 am
@SenSanders: The federal deficit is expected to shrink to $642 billion this year, half of what it was four years ago.
If you declare war, I am on the side of that Hughes woman with the Lax skillz…..a pure weapon of doom….
Scrapple n’Ricin says:
May 16, 2013 at 10:28 am
The current gubmint has no legitimacy. Therefore, it has no right to exist.
chi (79)-
No. After this one-off, the empire has resumed turning to shit.
“I am on the front lines of this……do people understand how much stuff was sold in late 2012 with the sole intention of getting a clean 15% long-term cap gain treatment?”
Chi — Could be.. Here is a link to the CBO spreadsheet $201 Billion additional in 2013 from Individual Income taxes and $107 Billion more in Social Security Taxes
http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/Tax%20Receipts.xls
A lot of people me included were not allowed to take advantage of the 15% cap gains offer. Tons of folks I know could not sell their gainers.
Why, because the damm casualty loss rule is 10% of your income plus $100 bucks before you get to write anything off. Anyone with a Sandy Casualty write off inflating your income with securities sales just takes away from your casualty write off.
Plus folks like me putting in for grant money which is based on 2012 income returns cant afford to inflate income as every dollar more earned impacts your ability to get a grant.
Plus if anything if everyone has no reason to sell do to higher tax rates that would support the bull market, you get in but hard to get out.
chicagofinance says:
May 16, 2013 at 10:31 am
I am on the front lines of this……do people understand how much stuff was sold in late 2012 with the sole intention of getting a clean 15% long-term cap gain treatment? A one time event……think about all the stories that were publicized about once in a generation turnover of Hamptons trophy real estate……
anon (the good one) says:
May 16, 2013 at 9:51 am
@SenSanders: The federal deficit is expected to shrink to $642 billion this year, half of what it was four years ago.
Nom,
Seems that excuse about the TEGE division just being over-worked doesn’t quite fly.
http://reason.com/24-7/2013/05/15/data-doesnt-support-irs-explanation-for
Some footage of Nom while at work in Pennsyltucky…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85IqBwGi1m8
Santelli reading a tweet regarding the IRS scandal: “Ask not, what you can do for your country; ask what your country can do to you.”
In the near future, only the true believers will receive medical care.
Get your mind right, gary.
Cover story is rogues in Cincinnati, meanwhile the letters demanding documentation originated from offices in DC and California.
The United States of America: 1776 – 2013
Fast Eddie,
I suggest you re-read your US History.
Juice [88];
Return address of the mother ship in DC on the letterhead is not a controlling factor. Who signed the letter, whether or not they drafted it, is significant however.
Also a red herring is the BS line that “the Cincinnati field office is responsible”. That’s like NASA saying “the Merritt Island field office launched a rocket”. Merritt Island == Cape Canaveral == where the rubber meets the road. The entire purpose of the enterprise is to shoot things into space, Merritt Island is just the jumping off point. Here, Cincinnati just happens to be where the IRS stuck the office responsible of this stuff — but anyone and everyone who wanted 501(c) status would have to deal with “the Cincinnati field office”.
Housing Momentum Good to 2017: CoreLogic Case-Shiller
The housing recovery has plenty of steam, with many markets still considerably undervalued, according to CoreLogic Case-Shiller economist David Stiff.
By Shanthi Bharatwaj, Staff Reporter
THESTREET.COM — 44 MINUTES AGO
NEW YORK (TheStreet (Symbol : TST
Loading… Loading…
)) — Forget all the talk of a housing bubble. The recovery has plenty of momentum behind it, according to CoreLogic (Symbol : CLGX).
Home prices rose 7.3% in 2012, the most in seven years, according to the CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index. Prices are set to rise further in 2013 and beyond. Economists expect the index to rise at an annual rate of 3.9% between the fourth quarter of 2012 and the fourth quarter of 2017.
The rate of appreciation will be clearly slower than 2012. Home prices are projected to rise only 2.5% in 2013. This is decidedly lower than some forecasts that call for a 7% to 8% rise in 2013.
There have been growing concerns of a housing bubble as some metros such as Phoenix and Las Vegas have reported double-digit price gains.
But CoreLogic Case-Shiller economist David Stiff does not believe the kind of gains that have been recently witnessed will continue throughout the year.
Stiff says market supply/demand dynamics will likely shift during the year, as rising home prices lead sellers still waiting on the sidelines to list their homes and as new construction picks up.
Also see: Big Bank Phobia: Not Too Big to Fail >>
“Even if double-digit price appreciation were to continue in the former bubble metro areas, there is no reason to believe that new home price bubbles are forming,” he adds. “That’s because single-family homes in these markets are still very affordable, even after last year’s large price gains. Consider Phoenix, where home prices rose 27 percent since the market hit bottom in 2011, making it the strongest residential real estate market in the U.S. Yet, home prices there are still 45 percent below their 2006 peak,” he noted.
Still, given that markets such as Phoenix have been rising due to investor demand, home prices could be volatile, Stiff admits. If investor demand slows, it is not clear that demand from home buyers would take its place, given tight mortgage credit conditions.
joyce,
Convince me otherwise.
Eric Holder = Al Sharpton with a better haircut
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfooaIPczg4
(93)
The problems you complain about started generations ago. Why pick 2013? And not 3 years from now, or 30 years ago, etc etc
[85] chifi,
No joke, I leave for Rutherford at 7:15 this morning and on Rte 842 into West Chester is a freshly killed deer in the middle of the road. Had to be fresh because this is a heavily traveled road and Birmingham police or West Chester police won’t let it sit long.
I would put the demise of Amerika at the point where Nixon and his cronies put us off the gold standard in 1971. I agree with Stockman that it led to the rampant financialization which ended in the 2008 crash and will lead to an even bigger crash sooner than we think.
[84] moose
Determinations is a very overworked division. And I don’t blame anyone in Cinncinati.
The bubble in little green pieces of paper will end in the destruction of Western civilization.
I blame Cincinnati for the invention of chili mac. Just a vile concoction.
[101] scrapple,
Worse than poutine?
Scrapple,
You at work? I was thinking of going over to JC when I finish up with the IRS here in Rutherford.
Poutine tastes good when you’re drunk. Chili mac never tastes good.
Yeah, I’m at work all day. Come over and help me build bombs.
New study confirms what we’ve already suspescted.
Men with right-wing political beliefs tend to be strong. Meanwhile, men with left-leaning political views tend to be weaker.
Sure there will be exceptions, but this is the general rule.
Does a place called Cincinnati really exist?
Gold Standard…yep no banking panics or depressions with that…..I agree more with the “finalization” issue, cause,as we see today, the “EFT-ization” of gold can also create financial bubbles, etc. I think it is safe to assume that manipulation would still ocurr.
I like this:
http://www.nber.org/chapters/c11482.pdf
(108)
Condo,
I think if you look into most if not all panics and depressions followed (caused by) the abandonment of The Gold Standard. As well as the fractional lending which may have been a part of The Gold Standard… but is not desired by those calling for a return to a gold standard.
“Men with right-wing political beliefs tend to be strong. Meanwhile, men with left-leaning political views tend to be weaker.”
–That’s because right wingers are so paranoid they need to act and look tough to hide the crippling fear that runs their lives. And in many cases, to hide their latent homosexuality.
“Most societies are divided into a party that wants change (the more liberal party) and one that is afraid of change (the conservatives). The liberal party is generally more intellectual and the conservative party is more anti-intellectual.
The conservative party is big on national defense and magnifies our perception of threat, whether of foreign aggressors, immigrants, terrorists, or invading ideologies like Communism. To a conservative, the world really is a frightening place.”
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/201104/conservatives-big-fear-brain-study-finds
It’s like blaming some of the European countries’ problems on austerity when (1) they’re not really doing it (Iceland did), and (2) they ignore everything that preceeded the ‘crisis.’
Ottoman,
Do you side with liberals like Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry or liberals like Barack Obama?
110
Barack Obama is a wimp on national defense isn’t, he? He did reverse the patriot act, close Guantanamo, contract the drone program, and isn’t assasinating people without due process.
I was going to say “both sides are bad” … but no, THEY ARE ALL BAD.
Grand house at a good price, but can you afford the taxes? Sheesh. Probably why its the only property left with snow on the photos.
http://www.trulia.com/property/1025896626-11-South-Cres-Maplewood-NJ-07040#photo-1
http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/05/chris-matthews-sours-on-obama-164095.html
joyce says:
May 16, 2013 at 2:09 pm
110
Barack Obama is a wimp on national defense isn’t, he? He did reverse the patriot act, close Guantanamo, contract the drone program, and isn’t assasinating people without due process.
I was going to say “both sides are bad” … but no, THEY ARE ALL BAD.
#71
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=220813
there has been a net $762.6 billion of new debt added to the Federal balance sheet, not $488 billion
At the current run rate over the four calendar months we have in the bag thus far the run rate for deficits on a cash basis this year is $1.188 trillion. For comparision last year was $1.210 trillion, which is indistinguishable.
From 9/28/2012 to the end of April on a fiscal year basis the run rate is $1.307 trillion.
“If you declare war, I am on the side of that Hughes woman with the Lax skillz…..a pure weapon of doom….”
I would only date her if she was willing to leave those glasses on 24-7!
And the mortgage games continue.
In April I opened a new credit card to get free bags and a free ticket for my flight to the birthplace of chili mac on Labor Day weekend. Some financial credit company called me today and made me do a conference call with the automated credit card company number to prove my balance was what I said it was. My balance was $500.04. I needed to charge over $500 in the first three months to get 30K miles and a $50 statement credit. Actually, through the help of the good forum participants at fat wallet, I figured out how to get 34,000 miles and a $100 credit. The plane tickets are $360. So…$500 in credit card spending yielded me free bags on the flight, early boarding (not necessary though since I’m on a CRJ), $100 cash back and $680 worth of airmiles. On the negative side, I had to spend 5 minutes on the phone with some strange company looking out for mortgage companies. It’s good to be the Captain Cheapo.
(118). Good work! I do that kind of stuff, myself. I play the credit card points game. One cc gave me a $500 home depot gift card. United gave me, and my wife, and my middle son each 50k miles. They all work for me, ha ha. And make great pay! We use it to send our daughter back and forth to school in Maine. I always cancel after the freebie period runs out. Just keep getting new offers.
Hmm, I think it’s time to put my daughter on the payroll. She needs some cc points.
It really is insane. Nothing beats taking the family to Europe First Class in August and staying at $400 Euro per night hotels all for free. It’s a good thing so many people carry balances month-to-month. Now how can I get free food?
Help! Help! I’m being repressed!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324216004578483080076663720.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_opinion
Strange women, lying in ponds, distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
lib (117)-
Her goggle tan is really weird. It’s the only downside of womens’ lacrosse.
“I would only date her if she was willing to leave those glasses on 24-7!”
You can’t expect to wield supreme power just cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!
Chicks love my stick
http://www.google.com/search?q=hot+lacrosse+girls&client=firefox-a&hs=nV6&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=kkWVUaW1LLiu4APavIDYDQ&ved=0CDcQsAQ&biw=978&bih=743#imgrc=N2Co9FzCo-9huM%3A%3Bm-kLuX-Rj3FhsM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fmedia.nj.com%252Fathlete_of_the_week%252Fphoto%252Fbrittneyorashenjpg-2d91d745a1796590_large.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.nj.com%252Fhs-athlete-of-the-week%252Findex.ssf%252F2010%252F04%252Fhigh_school_performer_of_the_week_-_week_3_brittney_orashen_girls_lacrosse_hunterdon_central.html%3B432%3B287
Brittney Orashen is hottest LAX girl in NJ
My daughter kicked Orashen’s ass for four years in HS.
To be fair, Orashen is a really good player.
Why is JJ looking at HS girls’ lax photos during work hours?
Executive power comes from a mandate from the masses, not some farcical aquatic ceremony.
Dick Trickle, dead.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9105342
Cue jj…
Pain [124];
Oh but if I went ’round sayin’ I was Emperor, just because some moistened bint lobbed a scimitar at me, they’d put me away.
Those were old photos, she is actually a hot college player in Jacksonville Florida
Scrapple n’Ricin says:
May 16, 2013 at 4:57 pm
Why is JJ looking at HS girls’ lax photos during work hours?
jj (133)-
Duh. Please answer the original question.
68:
Ah, the classics never get old.
[110] ottoman
Latent homosexuality? Can I use that when the wife busts me for checking out another woman?