From the Star Ledger:
Property tax burden up 13 percent under Christie, AP analysis shows
The net household property tax burden in New Jersey rose 13 percent during Gov. Chris Christie’s first three years in office — a number that reflects both his success in reining in local government spending and his inability to restore a relief program that was gutted by his predecessor during the Great Recession, an Associated Press analysis of tax data has found.
The growth is only slightly lower than it was in the last three years of Democrat Jon Corzine’s time as governor, when the net tax bill went up 15 percent.
But it reflects a different approach: Christie, a Republican, has gone further to force local governments to keep costs down — and give them help doing it. Corzine also tried to control local government costs but did much of his work on trying to control taxes by expanding a rebate program, which he then cut.
…
The AP’s analysis found that the average net property tax obligation in 2012 was 31 percent higher than in 2007. For those cut from the program altogether, the increase has been even greater.The Christie administration says focusing on those numbers minimize the governor’s property tax relief accomplishments.
The governor signed a law capping property tax growth at 2 percent per year — and with fewer exceptions than Corzine’s 4 percent cap.
To ease spending pressures on towns, he also achieved a major breakthrough when he got a Democrat-run Legislature to go along with an overhaul of pension and health insurance for one of the party’s main constituencies, public-sector employees.
His administration says that action will save local governments $900 million over its first three years and will save increasing amounts each year.
The governor did agree last year to plan for an income tax reduction based on the amount of residents’ property taxes, a variation on the rebate and credit programs. But the Legislature balked, saying the state couldn’t afford it. Christie, meanwhile, has rejected Democrats’ calls to increase income taxes on high-wage earners to pay for property tax relief for people who make less.
Christie is continuing to push for a version of the tax cut and for more controls on local spending, including not letting government employees get paid for unused sick time when they leave and offering incentives for communities to share more services.
@njdotcom: Property tax burden up 13 percent under Christie, AP analysis shows http://t.co/Qh26DQcXsx
But what was inflation in that time period. You have to inflation adjust that 13%
Someone who invested $1,000 in stocks at the end of 1982 would have ended up with nearly $22,000 by the end of 2012, more than double the roughly $10,400 he’d have from bonds or the around $3,700 a savings account
This is what drives me nuts. Folks under 33 have some insane fear of stocks. I noticed it in my staff and plenty of young folks.
I talk to them and they tell me they are in cash, short term bond funds, playing it safe.
I go playing it safe. You are investing in something that when you factor in inflation you have a 100% chance of losing money. I dont get it.
Now it is getting annoying at a lot of firms in regards to unvested comp. These knuckleheads are not at flight risk. Due to their own stupidity.
For instance many firms have 3 year vesting. Since Enron you cant force it in company stock as much as you could. So lets say you give the kids 25k grant every January 1st and a 50 year old a 25k grant every Jan 1st.
Well the 50 year old recognized that 1-1-2011, 1-1-2012 and 1-1-2013 stocks were insanely undervalued and put his grant 100% into stocks. The 30 year old is fearful as never experienced a bull market before and came to age in Lehman went 100% cash.
Now the 30 year old is a flight risk as market recovered and they dont have a ton of unvested stuff. At most 50K after the next grant vests while the person in stocks has double.
GOD these kids are annoying. You are young, single no family, it is unvested stock no money out of pocket and still you go to cash.
Honestly, one kid I know who has half a brain graduated school Spring 2000 and went 100% stocks. Stayed the course. Two huge bear markets was her once in a lifetime buying opportunity. She is pregant with her first kid and is leaving the workforce around Feb 2014 after this year bonus and 401K match and when her Jan 2012 stocks vest. She has a massive 401k. She completely saved for retirement in just 14 years. Maxing in stock in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 at prices that were bargain basement. She just leaves what she has in her 401k all in equities considering she is just 35 means at 70 compounding it will be multi millions.
JJ [2];
But what was inflation in that time period. You have to inflation adjust that 13%
Yes. And if you believe the Bernak, we’ve had no inflation to speak of in that time. In reality, the printing presses have been blowing the doors off. So it’s probably a wash.
Except, inflation is only a wash if incomes keep pace with expenses. Real incomes have shrunk. Maybe not for gubmint workers who get paid from 13% higher property taxes, just for the people funding those taxes.
JJ [3];
They didn’t call it “The Great Depression” in real time. History will come to know this period we are living through as worse than ’29-’39. It will create another generation of “depression mindset” in our collective memory.
IIRC, TPTB referred to the Great Depression as “a depression” for euphemistic reasons because these events were formerly referred to as “panics”. Kind of like, “Oh no, no, no. This isn’t a panic, just a little depression.” Well, the “depression” was so great and lengthy such that that euphemism was used up, so the next time around it was “Oh no, no, no. This isn’t a depression, just a little recession.”
No wage inflation? Depression?
The number of millionaires in NJ increased by more than 1 million between 2009 and 2011 (From 6.15 million in 2009 to 7.2 million in 2011).
Less than zero sum game. This stat is many times offset by the declining fortunes of the many. Besides, where does it say that the increase in millionaires is a direct result of higher wages as opposed to capital investment?
No wage inflation?
The number of millionaires in NJ increased by more than 1 million between 2009 and 2011 (From 6.15 million in 2009 to 7.2 million in 2011).
Poverty rate for college graduates in NJ is 3%
Nationwide unemployment rate for Bachelors is 4.5%, 3.5% for Masters, and 2.1% for Professional Degrees.
Recessions are no longer made equal.
#7….US?, I thought only 8 million people in all NJ
[9] curve fitting with the top 2% and the bottom 3% doesn’t prove the direction of the 95% that you haven’t addressed.. And college graduates who are “employed”? C’mon this has been oft discussed. Conspicuously absent are average and median numbers for all workers, no?
#9..we have had a period in the US where HS educated could get good paying union jobs and be in middle class, it seems, due to globalization, that part of the population, HS educated or less, will see a dramatically lower standard of living.
I’ll blame the shitty reporting I lifted that from, that is supposed to be percent not millions.
[11] And workers, not households. I’m sure a lot of those college graduates are back living at home and putting in their 20 hours at Radio Shack to fund their Latte addictions, thus elevating household incomes. (or putting in their 20 hours at Starbucks so they can buy iPhone accessories at Radio Shack).
[13] QED
12 – We don’t have many options..
Trade protectionism – Import tariffs and outright bans
Data protectionism – Make outsourcing incredibly costly by imposing punitive data protection regulations for data viewed, stored, or processed off-shore.
Variant of trade protectionism that bans trade with any countries (direct or indirect) that don’t meet certain minimum levels of living standards and wage purchasing power.
Another world war – we would see a huge increase in the manufacturing capabilities and resultant middle class wages, if for example, we were to nuke Germany and China.
Elimination of all foreign aid
Vastly increase US energy independence, fracking, off shore wells, wind, Alaska, pipelines, nothing off the table.
JJ I put most of my money in stocks. Has done well, but the guys I know who bought multiple houses made much more money. Its easier to leverage up and if you look like losing money the govt will bail you out.
#17
I imagine it would also be a question of effort. Investing in stocks is so stupid easy nowadays, you can just add to your position at every downturn and be fine with little to no effort. I could put more time into investing and earn more, but why bother? I’m young, no kids, now’s the time to enjoy it.
Unlike other young people, I’ve seen opportunity in the market…only regret is that I put very little money in it since 2010, so my gains are very minimal.
Richard, you can lever up in stocks too via margin. However, for some reasons people think a margin loan is extremely risk which is limited to 50% of your assets and is marked to market daily.
But ok to do 95% margin on housing which is an illiquid asset that is difficult to price that has high carrying costs.
For instance. I am a new landlord. I bought a place June 2013. My wife was scared as we had taxes, insurance, maint, etc. and no tenant. That on top of place could lose value quickly. And you cant sell easily and costs to sell our huge if you use a realtor.
I actually could have got it for a bit less I found out. Which sucks as in stocks the price is the price. It has transparency. But on other hand I got a tenant super fast. Three units were for rent, one still not rented owner asked a bit too much and not as nice, second was a corporate thing that will be rented but guy is losing a few weeks rent while paper work is process and my unit immediately.
Maybe if I held out and got cheaper unit I would have missed my chance at the tenant and got stuck holding it for months on end. Who knows. Real Estate is almost like scalping tickets. You buy something you are guessing at its value the day you buy and praying there is someone who will pay a lot more when you want to sell.
Also real estate is emotional. My wife like my unit how it faces, the neighbor, the realtor and the seller. The other unit is closer to annoying neighbor and closer to street but that does not effect rent. However, she is thinking I want easy close and nicer unit even though that does not effect rent at all. Meanwhile in stock she would not say I like the seller and condition of Joe’s JP Morgan Shares better than Jills JP Morgan Shares so I will pay more.
re #16 – ” We don’t have many options..”
Err I digress jobs that was exported due to globalization is actually factories that were exported. A manufacturing facility has the cost of the plant, transportation costs for raw materials in and finished products out and cost of compliance for Local and Federal regulations plus insurance costs. Labor Union or not is not the only determining factor.
For example. What product liability does a foreign producer have who has no assets in the USA? Answer: literally none.
If we changed a few laws and allowed companies to pollute and and some other laws we have on the books the jobs would come rushing back. The development and manufacturing life-cycle of products for the US market could be shortened and we could work towards more just in time manufacturing. Lots and Lots of new jobs in automation, robotics, applied sciences etc. The Government could kick start it by funding more trade schools in this area.
I agree with everything you say, but I was leveraged into stocks in 2007 and that was really painful. The guys who bought property and were leveraged didn’t get stopped out as they could easily make the payments. That is one of the biggest differences.
BTW portfolio margin at Interactive Brokers is so amazingly cheap, you can leverage 10x at 100bps its insane. Easy to cut your fingers off. Leverage 10x in property is no big deal.
Law of supply and demand at work.When will other Companies follow?
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is moving 35,000 part-time workers to full-time status and is elevating another 35,000 to part-time from temporary after struggling to keep shelves stocked with too few employees in the past year.
Also, about 55,000 seasonal workers will be hired for the holiday season, up from 50,000 last year, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer said today in a statement. The 70,000 workers whose employment statuses are being elevated will keep their new positions after the holiday season ends, said Kory Lundberg, a Wal-Mart spokesman.
The U.S. workforce at Wal-Mart’s namesake and Sam’s Club warehouse chains fell by about 120,000 employees in the past five years, to about 1.3 million, according to regulatory filings. In that time, the company has added more than 500 U.S. stores through July 31. That workforce decline has coincided with customer frustration that there aren’t enough employees to keep shelves stocked, cash registers manned and shoppers’ questions answered, Bloomberg reported earlier this year.
Must really be killing the Waltons to know they they have to employ people.
Whatever happened to installing banks of self-serve lockers and pushing customers to buy online, but then have to drive down to the store to pick up the item in the self-serve area?
Imagine how few employees you’d need than! Cashiers? What cashiers! Hell, they even cut the UPS driver out of the picture.
re: #23 – Amazon same day delivery coming to a town in NJ by you. No need to get off your fat duff and head down to the store.
http://allthingsd.com/20130813/why-is-amazon-hiring-for-a-secret-new-jersey-warehouse/
Amazon warehouse in NJ isn’t a secret
Ah nevermind, that’s Avenel not Robbinsville.
Richard the Buy high sell low strategy never works.
Richard says:
September 23, 2013 at 10:27 am
I agree with everything you say, but I was leveraged into stocks in 2007 and that was really painful.
It’s like the 2008 financial meltdown all over again — only worse.
New York state will lose hundreds of thousands of well-paid back-office, finance, tech and manufacturing jobs over the next 48 months, according to new data reviewed by The Post.
But instead of Wall Street in free-fall, this job loss is caused by slow growth, labor-saving technology and lower-cost competitors overseas and out of state.
New York has recovered all the jobs it lost during the Great Recession. But these replacements are lower-paying jobs just above minimum wage and with reduced benefits, analysts say.
“I know one very profitable company in New York that’s not replacing staff once employees quit or retire,” Honorio Padrón, principal at The Hackett Group, a global strategic advisory firm, told The Post.
He’s describing a Fortune 500 company, but he declined to name it. And, he says, it’s one of many shipping scores of back-office jobs overseas.
“These employees won’t be replaced in New York, because of the high costs of doing business here,” added Padrón. The pay for these local jobs averages nearly $80,000 annually, Padrón says.
New York is at the epicenter of a wider bloodbath — a staggering 1.85 million back-office jobs projected gone from North America from 2002 to 2017, hundreds of thousands of them in New York, according to new research by The Hackett Group. Blame it on offshoring and economic fundamentals like tepid growth and technological efficiencies, it says.
The data make grim reading. New York state lost nearly 100,000 manufacturing jobs in the five years through 2012. That’s a gut-wrenching drop of 16.9 percent, compared with a national average of 14.1 percent, according to the Office of the Comptroller.
And since 2008, the state has shed a total of 182,000 middle- and higher-wage jobs paying as much as $70,000 a year and up, according to another economic analysis.
For the 12 months ended June 2013, manufacturing employment rose modestly across the nation, but declined in New York by 3.6 percent year-over-year.
After one of the worst decades on record for manufacturing jobs — a record 294,000 jobs lost, or 39 percent of the total — the current decade looks like it may be a repeat disaster.
And IBM recently said it was moving hundreds of jobs from Rochester to Mexico.
I thought yome had moved on from here and gotten a job as the final piece in a human centipede.
re: #28 – All those unemployed MBAs can put their degrees to work managing the pick and pack workers.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/jobs/216461?ie=UTF8&category=Fulfillment%20Center&jobSearchKeywords=%22operations%20manager%22&location=&page=1
I wish Amazon sold guns.
I don’t see how the housing market or economy can really recover in NJ because of the loss of so many well-paying jobs, esp. those making over $100,000. (pharma, finance, banking, insurance).
All these people are now desperate contract workers who are angry and depressed, and working under poor conditions (not knowing from day to day if they still have a contract job, regular employees treating them like dirt, totally unable to plan for the future, etc.).
And every one of those contract workers resents that they were laid off and treated like dirt at each contract job so that the top people in the company can make some extra dollars (the prevailoin view). There is a lot of anger out there……
My husband is very discreet and so he has been hearing incredible stories from other contract workers (all who are well-educated, extremely capable people who once all earned over $100,000. annually). Stories of people leaving their families behind in other states and not seeing them in months (too expensive to visit them), giving up needed medical care because they don’t have medical insurance, selling their homes in desperation and moving into cheap apartments, doubling up with other family members to save housing costs, even divorced people still living together when they have children to keep costs down.
By the way, he says that he is not seeing new contract or full-time jobs in NJ, but instead in other states such as Texas, California, Minnesota.
#33..are these contract jobs all IT related?
Wait for the Hope and Change ,Barry said so
Sima [33],
We’ve had this discussion before as I’ve been there too many times over the last 5 years. My current job is full time perm but at 70% of my 2008 salary. Contracting is horrible and the attitudes of the “perm” workers towards the “others” is most definitely prevalent. This area of the country is hemorrhaging solid jobs with benefits. I work in the Murray Hill area and each time I drive past these corporate parks, the sea of empty parking spaces is just a reminder of the slow death of the middle class.
#35 1987 Condo:
The areas my husband knows about that are mainly contract jobs are in pharma, banking, insurance.
Business jobs such as: project managers, business analysts, IT business systems analysts. Production jobs. Jobs in the finance department, including analysts, accounting, accounts receivable and payable. Human resources. Security. Cafeteria workers. And of course IT programmers and developers (which is what everyone ususally thinks of when they think of contract workers).
Every company he’s been a contract worker (pharma, pharma-related, insurance) at in NJ has had hundreds of white-collar contract workers (that he knows about in these areas). These are all people who can no longer lead normal middle-class/upper middle class lives because at any moment their contract job can end and it may be months before they find another one. Thus the anger and desperation.
Fast Eddie: Yes!
I’ve heard stories from several white collar contract workers about how employees think nothing of yelling at and publicly berating contract workers for anything and everything (whether real or imagined), of public humiliation,and of giving contract workers assignments that they themselves should have done, but can’t or won’t (thus setting them up for failure and to be scapegoats).
BBRY to resume trading at a 2 PM after offer for buyout was accepted.
re # 39 – We like to do bull in the ring with the contract workers.
The video game Grand Theft Auto V achieves US$1 billion in sales in three days so take that iPhone Junkies.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-22/does-grand-theft-auto-v-mean-the-end-of-hollywood-.html
Kenya says country is safe for tourists
How many would like to go on a grand tour ? Wonderful peace of mind trip for you and the family.
I wonder if Obama has been back?
I would say half the laid off folk who are in trouble it is partly their fault.
Stuff like needing two incomes to survive, you doubled your chance of a layoff getting you in financial trouble.
Getting too focused in one industry and getting pigeoned holed.
Not taking advantage of free MBAs or certifications at old job
Not networking and joining groups till you are unemployed.
Fat, sloppy, badly dressed etc. I want you to look like you could work.
Complaining. Someone who complains about boss, company etc. to me then gets let go I dont want, he is going to be doing same to me.
If you are a good worker, team player, educated, good looking nicely dressed there will always be work. But 95% of folks just dont get it.
My buddy when he lost his job the third time, lost 25 pounds, dyed his hair, got lasik, teeth whitening and went to toastmasters. He reemerged at 54 with a great job.
No one wants a fat, grey haired, yellow tooth guy with glasses.
Chi,
That article hits home as I work in accounting change. Grim may believe that things have improved in this area but reality is far different for many, many people. If you can’t replace jobs in Ops, Financial accounting or IT then this area is doomed. As JJ said garbage man make 100k in this area but how can hundred of thousands in NY fight over table scraps for 80k year. These are MBA, CPAs not just run of mill BAs in feminist Medieval poetry. Something has to give..it has been 5 years of hard core axe dropping. Solution can’t be to move to Utah or Pune
Our Kenyan occupier of the white house doesn’t care about his people. Only the Syrians that his buddies gassed.
Re: contract work
It’s going to get worse so might as well get used to it. 20 percent increase in health premiums this year. What employer can afford to keep employees with uncertain forward looking costs and demand.
Contract work is the wave of the future.
JJ’s advise: Do not get the pigeon in the hole
Only skills worth having in the future:
-trapping animals
-fishing
-marksmanship
-gardening
-cooking/preserving
-combat tactics
You deserve whatever you get if you think Ted Cruz, Bojangles, Rand Paul, Pelosi or any of the rictus-faced thugs in DC are somehow going to save you or help you.
I hope the gubmint shuts down forever. Maybe one day we’ll wake up and realize we don’t need it.
No downturn in my biz: selling people strong things to drink.
#45 JJ
Get a grip!
These are incredibly competent people who lost their jobs due to mergers, etc, but are now fighting to get any contract job that they can. Problem is that there are only a few contract jobs at any one time and hundreds (if not more) fighting for the same jobs.
“JJ says:
No one wants a fat, grey haired, yellow tooth guy with glasses.”
Best career advice ever given.
JJ – You forgot wrinkles. Nothing worse than a prune in a suit with a bad dye job a mouth full of horse teeth.
Sima (54):
Ignore JJ, he is the biggest a$$ kissing welfare recipient on this board. He is a welfare queen.
JJs advice- don’t get old..classic. I agree with some of it though. Trying to avoid trap is nearly impossible though. I will just try to smell better than other candidates.
Some actress said once you don’t look f@ckable anymore, your career is over. Guess that applies in a lot of places.
Bystander,
Unfortunately it’s true. It doesn’t hurt to tone up and dress well. Consider it a game time adjustment.
And those wrinkles omg, I never had a wrinkle in my life. I go all Elie Manning in the Toyota commercial I just stare at them till they reverse course.
Better to be good-looking than competent and productive.
God damn amerika.
The zombie that’s coming to eat your brain doesn’t care how you look.
Better to be good-looking than competent and productive = Marketing and Sales
Any man is a lier who claims he does not immediately upon meeting a women does not size her up based on if he would do her.
Men are slutty dogs so if you cant at least fall into these five categories how can he take you seriously.
You become the old women Don Drappers wife was forced to hire by January Jones after boning all his prior secretaries.
1) Marriage Material
2) Mistress Material
3) Fling Material
4) One night stand material
5) One night stand, when you are drunk on a business trip material.
Bystander says:
September 23, 2013 at 3:24 pm
Some actress said once you don’t look f@ckable anymore, your career is over. Guess that applies in a lot of places.
Any man is a lier who claims he does not immediately upon meeting a women does not size her up based on if he would do her.
Men are dogs so if you cant at least fall into these five categories how can he take you seriously.
You become the old women Don Drappers wife was forced to hire by January Jones after boning all his prior secretaries.
1) Marriage Material
2) Mistress Material
3) Fling Material
4) One night stand material
5) One night stand, when you are drunk on a business trip material.
Bystander says:
September 23, 2013 at 3:24 pm
Some actress said once you don’t look f@ckable anymore, your career is over. Guess that applies in a lot of places.
Why dont they work for themselves? Go all walter white and go into the empire building business
Sima says:
September 23, 2013 at 2:53 pm
#45 JJ
Get a grip!
These are incredibly competent people who lost their jobs due to mergers, etc, but are now fighting to get any contract job that they can. Problem is that there are only a few contract jobs at any one time and hundreds (if not more) fighting for the same jobs.
Apparently people are very sexually active nowadays as they get older.
JJ, what do you know about this?
CDC reports: “Rates of sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis have doubled for people in their 50s, 60s and 70s in the past decade.”
jj has developed superimmunity against stds.
571133 859777Thanks for all your efforts that you have put in this. extremely interesting info. 329038
I think it’s just about to become reality that companies will hire the bulk of their entry level staff from programs other than 4 year diploma mills (universities). Once this trend gathers momentum, the higher education bubble will pop and the real opportunity will be setting up 3-12 month “certificate” programs to feed these entry level positions. Companies will start looking for young, cheap-to-hire kids, 3-12 months out of high school to fill it’s cubicles. Our future will include massive college closings and future 4 year degrees will be akin to country club memberships. Nice to have if you can afford them, but certainly not essential to having a career.
CHIF big GM investment grade bond offering coming up. Are you in?
Can I sell at 103 bid on the flip the next day? ….that was Verizon…..
JJ says:
September 23, 2013 at 4:59 pm
CHIF big GM investment grade bond offering coming up. Are you in?
Here is a fact: paying people money to give you investment advice is a waste of your money. It will not make you money. DO NOT HIRE INVESTMENT ADVISORS, STOP NOW.
This is not a new insight; John Bogle of Vanguard, for example, has been yapping about this fact for decades. Yet—here’s the funny thing—people and institutions around the world (including your very own retirement fund, in all likelihood!) still pay billions and billions of dollars to investment advisors each year. It’s truly amazing. Despite having been mathematically proven to be completely without value, the industry persists, due to quirks of human psychology. These advisors take your money, and then charge you a percentage of that money in order to tell you where to invest the rest of your money. And what do you get, for the money you pay them? In aggregate, absolutely nothing.
Here is the very latest research that proves that, out of Oxford, via the FT:
On an equal-weighted basis, US equity funds recommended by consultants underperformed other funds by 1.1 per cent a year between 1999 and 2011, according to analysis of 29 consultancies accounting for more than 90 per cent of the market by a team from Oxford university’s Saïd Business School…
The paper speculated institutional investors continued to rely on recommendations either because they want a “hand-holding service”, a “shield” to defend their decisions, or are “simply unaware how accurate or inaccurate” consultants’ calls are.
Are some advisors able to beat the market? Yes. Are you, or your pension fund, able to know which advisors will beat the market? No. In total, the entire industry is not worth a nickel to you, the investor. The great insight of John Bogle was: the only thing you can really predict about investing is how high the fees you’ll be paying are. So if you pay lower fees, you will do better. So instead of paying high fees to some “investment professionals” in return for no benefit, just pay low fees for some index funds, the end.
I encourage you to print out this article and give a copy to whoever is responsible for choosing the investment advisors for your retirement money. And when you give it to them, ask them whether they are looking for a hand-holding service, a shield for their own mistakes, or are they just stupid?
#67
So basically, colleges will revert back to the way they were before World War II?
Our future will include massive college closings and future 4 year degrees will be akin to country club memberships. Nice to have if you can afford them, but certainly not essential to having a career.
#43. Good post. In NYC, where 95% of workers produce nothing of value…appearance is king. Substance is so 1960’s.
61
Can’t close?
61. Good lookin’ don’t mean squat. It’s all about the numbers.
There isn’t much good under Christie, except perhaps his storm response.
Makes me wonder why the Dems don’t fight harder…he could be quite vulnerable if his record is examined.
And many are tiring of his loud mouth schtick.
All politicians suck. Anyone called to politics does it out of mental illness or sociopathy.
70: Essex,
Really bright, well respected guy I used to know said during a marketing strategy meeting that we had to push product A while we could; who knows when returns will revert to the mean.
[16] grim
“Trade protectionism – Import tariffs and outright bans”
We are doing that, at the margins. Essentially, we are doing what we can to gum up the works and foot-drag, but we aren’t calling it protectionism. And so everyone saves face, our competitors don’t call us on it, they just do likewise.
“Data protectionism – Make outsourcing incredibly costly by imposing punitive data protection regulations for data viewed, stored, or processed off-shore.”
Again, we are doing that, at the margins. So it the EU–their Data Directive and some of their pharma/ag laws are not so thinly-veiled protectionist measures. But we are not doing this to the extent our competitors are. I expect more in this area.
“Variant of trade protectionism that bans trade with any countries (direct or indirect) that don’t meet certain minimum levels of living standards and wage purchasing power.”
That probably won’t fly. Lesser efforts are failing miserably except those that ban trade with terror sponsors. We can do the lip service stuff like no student exchanges with countries that don’t prosecute wife-beaters, but once trade gets involved, you move from a lip service issue to something substantive. It also looks like a huge sop to the unions since the criteria will be similar to what unions would want in those countries. It’s a democratic wet dream but it isn’t going to happen.
“Another world war – we would see a huge increase in the manufacturing capabilities and resultant middle class wages, if for example, we were to nuke Germany and China.”
World War? Nope. Instant depression. Limited war like Iraq, sure, that will get you a bounce.
“Elimination of all foreign aid”
Pinprick. And a good portion of aid is paid either (1) to friends that won’t survive without us and (2) enemies so they don’t attack us.
Vastly increase US energy independence, fracking, off shore wells, wind, Alaska, pipelines, nothing off the table.
Hand-holding service is a big one….for those of you who don’t need one, it seems trivial, but the vast majority of people out there will disagree with you. Also, most people consider it a complete pain in the a%% to monitor their stuff….people have absolutely no interest in it…..here…read this paper you meathead…..
http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic1118825.files/moneydoc_061112.pdf
I encourage you to print out this article and give a copy to whoever is responsible for choosing the investment advisors for your retirement money. And when you give it to them, ask them whether they are looking for a hand-holding service, a shield for their own mistakes, or are they just stupid?
Sima (64),
Granny got STDs while dropping acid at Woodstock.
Photo by Jennifer Martine.Chef and food justice activist Bryant Terry’s latest book, The Inspired Vegan: Seasonal Ingredients, Creative Recipes, Mouthwatering Menus, may look like a simple cookbook, but it’s also much more than that. In it, Terry has included personal reflections on the history, music, and politics that shaped his interest in healthy, whole foods, as well as the cultural influences that inspired the recipes.Terry wrote the book before and immediately after his daught