From Forbes:
Are The One Percent Making The Housing Recovery Look Stronger Than It Actually Is?
(Click for Graphs)
Like nearly every economist on the planet, I am reading Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century. I am still getting my head around his theoretical argument, but his empirical analysis strikes me as quite strong, and it is grounded in remarkable scholarship (aka detective work).
One of the reasons I Piketty’s findings about growing wealth inequality easy to believe is the dynamics of the high-end real estate market around the world. Manhattan, Kensington in London, The Peak in Hong Kong, Altamont Road in Mumbai, etc. have stratospheric price levels, owing to the fact there is a limited supply of such places and that the people who want them have increasing wealth to purchase them.
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What does this have to do with measuring the housing recovery? The most commonly cited index, the Case-Shiller Index, is a value weighted index: million dollar houses have more weight in the index than $200,000 houses. So let’s do a simply example: suppose that two houses sell in 2013 and 2014. The first sells for $200,000 in both years; the second sells for $1,000,000 in the first year and $1,500,000 in the second year. If we were using a transaction weighted index, the average prince increase would be 25 percent (0 percent for the first house and 50 percent for the second). But with a value weighted index, we put together a “portfolio” of houses and see that the total value increased from $1,200,000 to $1,700,000, or a shade under 42 percent.
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Notice that while there has been substantial recovery from the trough, prices in the lowest tier have not gotten back to the pre-crash peak–in fact, they are still down 1/3 from their all time highs.
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The level is just below the all time peak. So the housing market at the top is doing much better than the housing market at the bottom (it is doing better than the middle, too). Even if all sectors of the housing market were weighted equally, a single index number of house prices in San Francisco will overstate the strength of the recovery for most people; with a value weighted index, that strength is overstated even more.
first!
time to play some pigeon chess!!
A month ago, I spoke of this issue when I posted that article about one Hyde Park in London. I stated that all this money at the top is creating a market where people purchase 50 million apartments not to live in, but as a part of their portfolio. All this money at the top is changing our economy and markets. If you think this is a positive trend, I would like to hear why? Obviously, I think it’s terrible for the majority of people participating in the economy.
What, now you want to dictate what people can buy with their money?
Moose, yes I am posting someone’s comments from that forbes article. They are based on sound arguments, so I have no problem posting it. Could care less how it reflects upon me.
Mark Leary 4 months ago
What if we actually expected people to have the personal discipline and intelligence to not reproduce UNTIL they move beyond a low paying job? Business then can expect to obtain the value that they pay their workers for, and the welfare numbers would decrease due to only the financially stable having kids. Personal accountability, not relying on a corrupt, inefficient, and bloated gov’t.
daviddelosangeles 4 months ago
Mr. Leary,
1) The problem that you are ignoring is that there are simply not very many well paying jobs for young people to move up to. In the past, a young person might work at a low paying job for a while and then move up the ladder to higher paying jobs. Today, there are many fewer jobs overall and even fewer in the upper rungs. The average of a worker at McDonlds is around 28 while 25 years ago it was probably around 20. This shift is not because young people today are lazy or complacent but because of the scarcity of jobs (see above).
2) Actually the US birth has indeed been dropping over the last several years exactly because people are avoiding having children because they cannot afford them [1].
3) A great many people who are unemployed or under-employed once had very good paying jobs. When factories and businesses close, older employees who had been making fairly good money and who have children they are thrown into low paying jobs (if they can get a job at all).
Smug platitudes do solve real problems.
[1] http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/06/news/economy/birth-rate-low/
Actually, there are lots of high paying jobs and few people to fill them. For instance, put up a posting for a high paying job and put down basic stuff, college degree and a MBA from at least a real school. (Fordham, SJU, Rutgers, Hofstra is good enough), then ask for some type of certification, CPA, CFA etc, then throw in some good basic exprience at one or two “real” companies, Big Four, JP Morgan, Goldman, Morgan Stanley and also show a few promotions, show some international travel for work, maybe sit on a board or two, maybe some volunteer work and that you are able to handle staff and all this all should be accomplished by 35.
Today as opposed to 25 years ago the amount of “kids” between 21-31 who are building resumes have fallen for non-asians.
I have nephews and nieces who graduated college in last 2-5 years who did not take jobs in Manhattan, are not in grad school and dont work at blue chip companies. Even better took majors “they” were interested in as opposed to majors companies wanted.
By time I was 28, I worked at three name brand companies, was working on my MBA and had staff. Heck I worked full time at Barclays Bank when I as 18!! By my 19 birthday I had a real company on my resume which is more than my 25 year old nephew can say.
This is very evident when you see BODs and Audit Committees looking for fresh blood such as a 40-45 year old. The resumes are getting paper thin. Even when you find one you bring them in and they lack the language or social skills.
@BillMoyersHQ:
“We have this vicious cycle where econ inequality translates into political inequality.” -@JosephEStiglitz http://t.co/mGdjC0tTlq
A new report by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz for the Roosevelt Institute suggests that paying our fair share of taxes and cracking down on corporate tax dodgers could be a cure for inequality and a faltering economy.
Forbes needs to invest in a proofreader.
Never said that. Just want to slow the growth out the top and direct it towards the majority of the population. There should never be so much surplus capital at the top that people can buy 50 million apartments that they don’t even use. Yes, it’s their right, but in terms of survival of our species and planet, it’s a total waste of finite resources.
I was watching that ny real estate show on bravo. They had an apartment on there that was bought in the 80s. Totally redone with all high end stuff. The person who bought it in the 80s, never lived or even touched the apartment. So they wasted all those resources creating an apartment that served no purpose. Why did they re-do it? They sold it now. Makes a lot of sense. Sad part, they wouldn’t give a guy begging on the street a dollar or even a job, but they will willingly throw away insane amounts of money buying and re-doing apartments they will never touch. Awesome.
Grim says:
June 3, 2014 at 8:26 am
What, now you want to dictate what people can buy with their money?
The point is that its not all their money if markets and governments are rigged to push capital in their direction while they exploit the human and environmental resources of our planet.
Grim says:
June 3, 2014 at 8:26 am
What, now you want to dictate what people can buy with their money?
The level is just below the all time peak. So the housing market at the top is doing much better than the housing market at the bottom (it is doing better than the middle, too).
Ergo; a few, sparse, overpriced, really sh1tty houses to consider. I can sell mine for a price that’s higher than even I expect but where am I going? Only the estate sales and p1ss-reeking dumps are selling and they’re selling for more than market value. Why? Because the muppets can’t come to the closing table with a check nor can they stomach losing their original down payment. Rinse and repeat for the next decade… at least.
Ottoman,
If someone gave you $10,000,000 tax free tomorrow, what’s the first thing you would do with it?
JJ,
I look at my current boss, a contractor now, who has CPA and CFA and notice he was let go in 2012 from big Swiss bank. My former boss graduated from top school in India, has CFA and CPA but still fired last year. He is now contractor back at my former bank. These are intelligent, motivated and educated people. Don’t make it seem like banks are desperate for talent. I still see lots of downsizing and consolidation still ahead.
I couldn’t agree more. But what gives these criminal actors and actions a veil of legitimacy?
9.Ottoman says:
June 3, 2014 at 8:50 am
The point is that its not all their money if markets and governments are rigged to push capital in their direction while they exploit the human and environmental resources of our planet.
A new report by anyone with common sense finds that reducing the tax burden and barriers to entry for small businesses and start-ups increases job creation and reduces “inequality”.
anon (the good one) says:
June 3, 2014 at 8:47 am
@BillMoyersHQ:
“We have this vicious cycle where econ inequality translates into political inequality.” -@JosephEStiglitz http://t.co/mGdjC0tTlq
A new report by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz for the Roosevelt Institute suggests that paying our fair share of taxes and cracking down on corporate tax dodgers could be a cure for inequality and a faltering economy.
We also have this vicious cycle where the govt grants itself more power and sells that power to the highest bidder.
“We have this vicious cycle where econ inequality translates into political inequality.” -@JosephEStiglitz
12, corporate desires and procedures don’t jive with the work that needs to be done. Hence the shedding and rehiring of people. They do tend to have an issue, they want the talent but don’t want to pay for it. It actually is tough to hire people now, contractors seem to be the norm for more highly paid folks as the budgets aren’t allowing full time hires.
Morning, Michael. I just surfed over here to see if you took your meds this morning. sadly, not.
Exactly!! So why aren’t we providing tax breaks to small business? Too bad big business lobbyists are doing their best to increase taxes on small business while asking for tax cuts for the big boys. All in the spirit of competition.
Street Justice says:
June 3, 2014 at 9:44 am
A new report by anyone with common sense finds that reducing the tax burden and barriers to entry for small businesses and start-ups increases job creation and reduces “inequality”.
Two guys that get it. People act like people are getting lazier, when it is quite the opposite, they are being asked to do more and more for less. Here take this contract job, if you do a good job, we will keep you. What a way to bait the poor worker with a carrot, to get him to work harder with lower pay and no benefits. You know damn well they have no intentions of hiring you full time no matter what kind of job you do.
Bystander says:
June 3, 2014 at 9:23 am
JJ,
I look at my current boss, a contractor now, who has CPA and CFA and notice he was let go in 2012 from big Swiss bank. My former boss graduated from top school in India, has CFA and CPA but still fired last year. He is now contractor back at my former bank. These are intelligent, motivated and educated people. Don’t make it seem like banks are desperate for talent. I still see lots of downsizing and consolidation still ahead
jcer says:
June 3, 2014 at 9:48 am
12, corporate desires and procedures don’t jive with the work that needs to be done. Hence the shedding and rehiring of people. They do tend to have an issue, they want the talent but don’t want to pay for it. It actually is tough to hire people now, contractors seem to be the norm for more highly paid folks as the budgets aren’t allowing full time hires.
Indian colleges are a joke. We assign them a value of zero. Why some of them just hand out degrees for a fee, some folks just counterfit the degrees and their is hardly any universal standard for issue certificates.
BTW boards are looking for WOMEN. Even harder to find.
What do these guys look like who were let go? You also have to look the part at certain levels.
12.Bystander says:
June 3, 2014 at 9:23 am
JJ,
I look at my current boss, a contractor now, who has CPA and CFA and notice he was let go in 2012 from big Swiss bank. My former boss graduated from top school in India, has CFA and CPA but still fired last year. He is now contractor back at my former bank. These are intelligent, motivated and educated people. Don’t make it seem like banks are desperate for talent. I still see lots of downsizing and consolidation still ahead.
Unfortunately, clot took them all. Blame him for my annoying posts.
Anon E. Moose says:
June 3, 2014 at 9:52 am
Morning, Michael. I just surfed over here to see if you took your meds this morning. sadly, not
Usually I charge between 1k and 5k to come in on an interview. Why the mere pleasure of getting to ask me questions for an hour is easily worth ten times that amount.
19.Michael says:
June 3, 2014 at 10:00 am
Two guys that get it. People act like people are getting lazier, when it is quite the opposite, they are being asked to do more and more for less. Here take this contract job, if you do a good job, we will keep you. What a way to bait the poor worker with a carrot, to get him to work harder with lower pay and no benefits. You know damn well they have no intentions of hiring you full time no matter what kind of job you do.
re: “Asked to do more and more for less.” You aren’t working in the coal mines 80 hours a week. Also you make it seem like paper pushers and key whackers do actual work. Better yet you argue as if it is like a full time job is foreordained in America.
Brief Book Review: Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt
Highly recommended. What the book does is examine popular economic myths and help one understand the economics of the situation correctly. I first read it when I was about 18, and have internalized these lessons for so long that to me they seem obvious. However, with the economics profession, media, politicians and investment gurus constantly repeating myths about the economy, it’s easy to see how someone who hasn’t had the benefit of this or similar books could fall for them. Here are the main topics covered:
Fallacy of the broken window (it stimulates activity but reduces overall wealth)
The same fallacy applied to other phenomenon (e.g. wars, earthquakes, hurricanes)
The non-free-lunch of public works
Why taxes discourage production
Why subsidized or free credit diverts capital from its best use.
Why capital equipment/machines are good not bad for labor and the economy
Why make-work schemes hurt economies
Why returning labor from the public to the private sector is good for the economy (e.g. after wars)
The negative consequences of tariffs and an overemphasis on exports.
The negative consequences of protecting or saving various industries
The role of prices in coordinating economic action, followed by the distortions created by government price fixing, caps, floors, on commodities, rents, labor.
The function of profits in guiding capital towards its best uses
The harmful effects of inflation
The harmful consequences of modern economic policy’s attack on savings.
The book is easy to read, with short chapters, no equations, and is only 195 pages long. It’s available as a free PDF here: http://mises.org/books/economics_in_one_lesson_hazlitt.pdf
Ragnar,
I second the recommendation. I’ve read it 3 times.
Bystander,
What kind of work do these people do? I think there’s probably a surplus of big investment bank management folks, kind of by design. It’s harder to say in actual investment decision making. There are a lot of people with degrees and qualifications, but it’s very difficult to determine who actually has skill and who doesn’t.
Joyce,
Good! Much easier, and probably a more practical/applied read than “Human Action”.
My primary criticism/qualification of the book is that it takes for granted that everyone agrees on a utilitarian worldview, meaning that people want higher average wealth. Hazlitt would have no answer for those critics willing to accept lower average wealth in return for greater equality of wealth. Only Ayn Rand attempted to provide an ethical defense of capitalism and individual rights(see “Atlas Shrugged” or “Captalism The Unknown Ideal”) that could answer those critics.
Back to housing.
Cash Deals for Homes Reach Record With Boomers Retiring.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cash-deals-homes-reach-record-040005429.html
On Grim’s topic of today, I do suspect that the 1% are skewing average housing stats. And then, at the level below that, I’d say government policy (bank bailouts, negative real interest rates) further favoring banker bonuses and help to inflate equity prices and risk assets that do a lot to support high-priced homes. I think this is mass distortion of the economy and people should protest against these odd Bernanke/Geithner/Obama trickle down economic policies that are fluffing high end home prices.
#11 I would leave a steaming pile on my managers desk, What would you do ?
You must have a really good job. You never had to take on the work of your co-worker who was laid off or retired, but not replaced? It’s always nice taking on someone else’s job. You know just be happy you have a job.
Juice Box says:
June 3, 2014 at 10:15 am
re: “Asked to do more and more for less.” You aren’t working in the coal mines 80 hours a week. Also you make it seem like paper pushers and key whackers do actual work. Better yet you argue as if it is like a full time job is foreordained in America.
@guardian: Seattle minimum wage: $15 figure represents ‘historic victory’ for workers: http://t.co/fJF6OdddIW
@nycjim:
Seattle approves $15 minimum wage, highest in nation. New standard set for big cities.
http://t.co/YHP5nulkMo
24- This review of your recommended book is funny.
If I was simple-minded enough to need to read this book to understand economics, I should not be worrying about economics in the first place.
This is nothing more than a libertarian/conservative propaganda piece, cloaked in Randian/Hayekian/Miltonian intellectual and moral corruptions.
If you have ever voted for a politician with Paul for a surname, this will be your favorite book.
Please note (especially conservatives, this ought to really twist you into enraged knots of white, suburban privilege): I teach economics to high school seniors all day long. And there is no way in hell I will ever let this pseudo-economic, twisted, 1%er bullshit be their introduction to the discipline I love.
Typed on my phone, forgive the typos.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/878794779?book_show_action=true&page=2
Seattle will thrive and ya’ll will have to STFU
anon (the good one),
Is there any downside to an increase to $15 hour?
My criticism of Atlas Shrugged is that I don’t believe it adequately addresses what happens when folks have kids who also want to be the “power generation” or “transportation” or “materials science” guy (or titan of whatever industry it is that they aspire).
Do the fiercely independent and self-sufficient capitalists force their offspring to establish their own gulch? Or do they cave in to nepotism? What if their offspring aren’t capable of being a titan (or even self-sufficient)? What if all the sites suitable for geothermal or hydro-electric power plants are already being squatted? How does an aspiring titan bide his or her time if many of the most valuable/exploitable resources are already being vigilantly defended? (My guess is that like many on this board, one simply becomes a crony of the powerful.) And what if a particularly competitive titan (like a Rockefeller) comes along and decides the world would be a better place if he were to own EVERYTHING – and consequently employs any tactic short of murder to acheive that end?
Heck, I’m probably just as competitive as most on this board, but when I’m invited to play a game where I’m the mark and the deck is stacked against me, I tend to disengage…(see: ongoing aftermath of real estate bubble).
I skew much more towards libertarianism than any other ideology, but to worship Rand’s doctrine without ever speaking to its practical limitations is almost as bad as tweeting inane leftist talking points.
Ragnar,
I think the chapters on inflation are good but could have been better. I remember it references Social Credit but only vaguely mentions it’s inherent fallacies. I like how very early on it mentions how inflation benefits a group(s) at the expense of others (and no, it’s not about debtor vs creditor), but I would rather he more robustly used the examples of Bank Credit inflation vs individuals using real savings to buy govt bonds. Banks (FedResSystem) create 90% or more of the money supply and inflation thereof… he should have hammered that point home. Granted we weren’t completely off the gold standard when the book was written…
Ragnar is consistent on the garbage he recommends
“Author Flannery O’Connor wrote in a letter to a friend that “The fiction of Ayn Rand is as low as you can get re fiction. I hope you picked it up off the floor of the subway and threw it in the nearest garbage pail.”[147]”
Michael says:
June 3, 2014 at 10:51 am
24- This review of your recommended book is funny.
If I was simple-minded enough to need to read this book to understand economics, I should not be worrying about economics in the first place.
This is nothing more than a libertarian/conservative propaganda piece, cloaked in Randian/Hayekian/Miltonian intellectual and moral corruptions.
If you have ever voted for a politician with Paul for a surname, this will be your favorite book.
Please note (especially conservatives, this ought to really twist you into enraged knots of white, suburban privilege): I teach economics to high school seniors all day long. And there is no way in hell I will ever let this pseudo-economic, twisted, 1%er bullshit be their introduction to the discipline I love.
Typed on my phone, forgive the typos.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/878794779?book_show_action=true&page=2
Re: [34];
Derp-to-English translation:
I’m afraid that I might be wrong, so I’m going to glom onto some negative review of this book I’ve never read. The reviewer must be right, because s/he incants all the proper leftist buzzwords (“libertarian/conservative propaganda” [As if they were the same -AEM]; ‘Rand/Hayek/Milton are all intellectually and morally corrupt’; Slams the Pauls; “White privilege”; “1%”).
[32, 33] anon
Well, let’s see if the phase-in ameliorates the economic impact.
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2014/05/seattle_might_raise_its_minimum_wage_to_15_this_is_not_a_good_idea.html
I agree with the author: This will be an interesting case study in economics. It is also about rent-sharing; Seattle and San Francisco, like NYC, are atypical markets. Would the same thing work in Dallas or Denver, or would the externalities cause a net loss and make border towns look like Routes 3, 28, and 95 as you cross from Mass (nothing) to New Hampshire (shopping meccas).
Good for some, bad for others, and overall effect unknown, something that even its supporters in the econ community concede.
[34] michael
“If I was simple-minded enough to need to read this book to understand economics . . .”
If?
What gets lost in the arguments about minimum wage, credentials etc. is the mere value of effective sales generation. At the end of the day, one hour of an effective rainmaker who can close a sales is worth more than 3 or 4 CPA’s/CFA’s that toil away for several weeks to complete the project that was sold. If the one hour is not expended successfully by the rainmaker, those analysts are idled and unproductive. So what is a reasonable wage for the rainmaker?
Michael says:
June 3, 2014 at 10:41 am
You must have a really good job. You never had to take on the work of your co-worker who was laid off or retired, but not replaced? It’s always nice taking on someone else’s job. You know just be happy you have a job.
Juice Box says:
June 3, 2014 at 10:15 am
re: “Asked to do more and more for less.” You aren’t working in the coal mines 80 hours a week. Also you make it seem like paper pushers and key whackers do actual work. Better yet you argue as if it is like a full time job is foreordained in America.
Economics in One Lesson (1946):
“Government-guaranteed home mortgages, especially when a negligible down payment or no down payment whatever is required, inevitably mean more bad loans than otherwise. They force the general taxpayer to subsidize the bad risks and to defray the losses. They encourage people to “buy” houses that they cannot really afford. They tend eventually to bring about an oversupply of houses as compared with other things. They temporarily overstimulate building, raise the cost of building for everybody (including the buyers of the homes with the guaranteed mortgages), and may mislead the building industry into an eventually costly overexpansion. In brief, in they long run they do not increase overall national production but encourage malinvestment.”
Did you notice the site he went to had 400-500 reviews and the average was 4.5/5 stars?
40.Anon E. Moose says:
June 3, 2014 at 11:01 am
Re: [34];
Derp-to-English translation:
I’m afraid that I might be wrong, so I’m going to glom onto some negative review of this book I’ve never read. The reviewer must be right, because s/he incants all the proper leftist buzzwords (“libertarian/conservative propaganda” [As if they were the same -AEM]; ‘Rand/Hayek/Milton are all intellectually and morally corrupt’; Slams the Pauls; “White privilege”; “1%”).
clotluva,
All good points.
Trolls thrive on negative attention.
I was in a conversation with a official from a local organization with ties to county and state government. We were discussing several issues when he commented on the mentality of state and municipal administrators. He mentioned that these people just “assume revenue”….meaning, a business opens its doors and the phones would just start ringing, and people would walk in the door and starting buying. He says that they don’t understand that running a business is not about merely allocating resources, and business failure is an ongoing concern that needs to be fought at all times until the organization has momentum.
48 – Spot on
re: #31 Michael – “but not replaced”. I am really good, it is not the job that is really good, most of the things I do can and will be replaced eventually. I know this and I challenge myself all the time to take on more work and more responsibility. Most people fail in the last part. They simply are afraid to push themselves to learn new things in life. If you sit when you should stand you will be replaced for you see there is little room in this world anymore for those that refuse to rise above their own self imposed level of mediocrity.
Clotluva,
I’ve read and studied Rand’s works extensively and am acquainted with hundreds of people who have done the same. I don’t think you are interpreting the meaning of her works or ideas correctly, which is why the issues you bring up also aren’t issues in my or my acquaintances’ lives. There’s no expectation to replicate all the concrete details of Dagny Taggart’s archetypical character in one’s own life. But there is an explanation of how adherence to virtues like rationality, honesty, independence, productivity, integrity, justice, and pride will help one achieve values in life, regardless of one’s level of talent or specific career goals.
The more common issue would be related to challenges like: how does one maintain the integrity to live rationally and remain optimistic in a world surrounded by irrational people and destructive ideas? Why not just “fit in” by surrendering one’s rationality and associated virtues?
26, Rags, the people I am talking about are not the Management, there are more than enough of them. I am talking about Quants, Strats, analysts, people who understand finance, financial products and math. Software developers, people who can read securities and banking regulations written by the dolts working for clowngress and turn it into procedures, policies, and technology to actually comply and do ti cost effectively without impacting the business. Smart people are needed, we need them to do the actual work and banks also don’t want to pay and from a high level are hog tied with regards to hiring and compensating. Management types are fungible in these organizations, expertise is priceless.
Jesus Christ are we posting tweets and crap from the comments section of articles to support points now?
Did either of you dopes ever have to cite a source when writing your 4th grade book reports?
(51) Ragnar,
Fair enough – although if what you cite was truly the intent of her message, she definitely could have conveyed it in a less polarizing fashion.
I haven’t read her other works, but based on Atlas, it seems like Rand tends to exclusively attribute success to individual effort, while discounting the fact that there is some truth to the saying, “success is the accumulation of advantages”.
I also think she makes a dangerous leap by assuming humans at-large are predisposed to playing fairly according to the rules…in reality, the competition isn’t about playing the game so much as changing the rules to suit one’s interests.
re: # 52 – “expertise is priceless”
Since when? Haven’t you heard of the story of the Mexican Quant?
All the experts can be replaced with cheaper labor elsewhere. Just ask Grim it is his forte.
Chifi all you need to know about sales is ABC – Always Be Closing and Invoice Early and often so you manage the WIP -Work In Progress
Best sale of all time was I met the clients on a Friday at his office and it turned out he was leaving at 3pm to go to Jersey Shore so I had five minutes to pitch. As I am sitting down his Manager walks by and hey how are you we shake hands, Client goes you know him, yep great guy. Asks me quickly about me and I tell him where I live etc, he goes wow my Mom lives up the block from you, I go wow I must see her in Church on Sunday (I knew he was Italian so must be Catholic), So I look at clock and I am three minutes into it, I go look I know your manager, I live by your Mom you know I am good for this, how about I go back to office, type up and engagment letter and you sign it Monday and you head out the door for Shore. I promise a good job and you wont waste time with an RFP. He was happy, so he signs letter and boom I bring three guys in and we do a great job.
Towards end he goes you know after I signed letter I realized I never even asked for your background at all and when I talked to the Manager he only knows you from the Hamptons and seeing you at Happy Hours. I go lucky for you I am really good. But I am also a good salesmen.
I also closed a one million dollar deal at JP Morgan in two minutes once, I went to SJU at same time as her brother and her brother busted his nuts in Accounting and fianance and she was like that is great. I go can I send you and engagement letter? She was like year but I need two people. I then remember one of my staff just opened up and extremely good looking black CPA from SJU and the women at Chase was black, she said describe him and I said imagine a yonger and better looking Denzel Washington who was an Accounting and business Genius who loved to work long hours. She said throw him on the bill and he better be what you say or I am not paying the bill and calling your Senior Partner to complain.
She melted like butter when he showed up. Turns out I lied a bit on his accounting and finance skills. But I was 100% honest on his looks. She kept him at a bill rate of $500 an hour ten hours a day for 52 weeks, once as she was balancing out the month end GL she asked him to sit with her and watch till midnight while he was on the clock.
If I was writing a paper to be published in a journal, I would make sure to get scholarly sources. I’m writing in a blog. The comment section I was posting was from forbes. Places like forbes have an intellectual comment section in which the author of the article participates in the discussion. They were citing websites to back up their information. So what is wrong with posting that?
Street Justice says:
June 3, 2014 at 11:52 am
Jesus Christ are we posting tweets and crap from the comments section of articles to support points now?
Did either of you dopes ever have to cite a source when writing your 4th grade book reports?
48 chifi, the government knows nothing of business, hence ridiculous taxes and everything else. They don’t realize it’s cyclical and there is risk involved in making large sums of money. They fail to understand high earners and the 1%, at least the part of it that people on this board are in. We take risk to make money, and it is cyclical, sometimes clients are knocking at the door with suitcases full of money other times you’re sitting in your office twiddling your thumbs paying rent, staff, utilities and other expenses. Even high earners in corporate america are paid based on how their unit performs, deals done, sales, etc. meanwhile the govt say fcuk you pay me you don’t pay enough you dirty capitalist pig. Meanwhile joe union member(make 200k a year) with stable income and benefits has predictability, I make a million one year and have to give half away in taxes, my business slows and I make little to no money for the next 5 years too bad, even though I took home the same amount of money I paid a higher rate and way more taxes than Joe the union crane operator. Who’s paying their fair share? I’m taking risk, generating business, creating jobs, paying massive taxes and somehow I am not paying enough? I should feel bad for making it to the 1% paying almost half my income to these communists, while not knowing what my income looks like in the future, dealing with clients who want to cut costs. Absolute bollocks, the government always want to get their vig and they vastly under or over estimate how profitable a given business is.
Excuse my rant.
55 juice to senior management that mexican landscaper/quant is good enough to the people who actually need to get the work done it isn’t going to cut it. Yes you can find people who can do the math and write the software ok in many places around the world, try to find ones who understand modern derivatives,trading,SEC regs, FED regs, who can talk to those sales people and trader JJ and CHIFI have been going on about, who actually speak english. Try having the mexican landscaper/quant explain to the FED how they justify their exposure on a given derivatives portfolio.
With the advent of artificial intelligence, how will people survive. You will need to have a whole new economic model to help people survive. Eventually these programs will be smarter than humans. What need will there be for human labor? We already are at the beginning of seeing robots that can cut the lawn, clean the house. If we create programs that are smarter than humans at fixing problems, what need will there be for human labor? People will have to accept a world in which people survive doing nothing. Everything will be done for them. Economists who say that technology creates new and better jobs in the past were dealing with primitive machines that were nowhere near the intelligence of a human. With the advent of machines that can do everything a human can do, but better, what will be left for the humans? Will the owners of the machines become the winners of society, like land made someone the winner in the 1800s? How will humans accumulate wealth, when labor has been taken over by very advanced machines. I’m talking about a machine that is a doctor. A machine that is a mechanic. A machine that is a carpenter. I can go on and on. This reality is coming, maybe not in our lifetimes, but none the less, it is coming.
Juice Box says:
June 3, 2014 at 12:22 pm
re: # 52 – “expertise is priceless”
Since when? Haven’t you heard of the story of the Mexican Quant?
All the experts can be replaced with cheaper labor elsewhere. Just ask Grim it is his forte.
58
jcer,
Rant on. But never forget, and I’m guilty of this too at times, the people who write the legislation & regulations know exactly what they’re doing and why.
Michael as of now there isn’t real AI, we have algorithms that can learn but actually compared to humans they are quite crude. What we have is technology that replaces the tedious work, things before that required a human to identify a pattern and adapt to it are problems attacked by AI but think about who complicated that code is and how much it cost to build. There is a place for smart people, but what is happening as the divide is getting larger, either you have a skill today or you are a ditch digger and unfortunately the world has many ditch diggers.
Michael the winner is and has always been those with resources, do you own land, water, oil, other energy sources, raw materials, etc. Robotics just means fewer people can get involved in wealth creation if the demand for product and the size of the population remains static, which assuredly it will not. The less tedium the better, unfortunately it is the dolt/ditch digger class that is rapidly procreating. Rich and smart people probably average 2 kids or less, the dumbest people in society have that many by the time their 17.
… unfortunately it is the dolt/ditch digger class that is rapidly procreating.
Amen to that. Look who they elected twice.
I know AI isn’t yet a reality, but from stuff I have read, it will eventually happen. When, not sure, but I do believe it is inevitable.
You see where they are going with biotechnology? It’s insane. For example, if your white blood cells are defective, they will put this nano technology into you that will play the role of the white blood cells. Insane!!!!!!!!!!!
jcer says:
June 3, 2014 at 1:07 pm
Michael as of now there isn’t real AI, we have algorithms that can learn but actually compared to humans they are quite crude. What we have is technology that replaces the tedious work, things before that required a human to identify a pattern and adapt to it are problems attacked by AI but think about who complicated that code is and how much it cost to build. There is a place for smart people, but what is happening as the divide is getting larger, either you have a skill today or you are a ditch digger and unfortunately the world has many ditch diggers.
Eddie, American’s elected Bush twice and Obama twice. Regardless of your politics neither is worthy of shining Clinton, Reagan or even Bush Sr.’s shoes.
Michael you’ll be dead by the time that happens, they haven’t even perfected google maps yet.
Also what you are talking about would have to usher in a total change in the economy because it would collapse in short order in such a scenario. No matter what happens the employment picture would never get to that point because if it did there would be anarchy on the streets.
@hblodget: RT @TheStalwart:
People who think good economic data doesn’t count because of cheap money… That is LITERALLY the point of cheap money.
anon (the good one),
Is there any downside to raising the minimum wage to $15/hr.?
Well said. You are quickly becoming one of my fav participants on this blog.
Worrying about the dolts/ditch diggers is where I am different from most of the posters on this blog. I have a really compassionate side to my personality. I could be like ragner, and say screw them, they did it to themselves, but my compassionate side keeps me from acting on this thought process. It’s a naive view of the world, but it’s difficult for me to not have some empathy for these people. Some people are born into a family of ignorance, is it their fault that they think it’s okay to not do good in school and have babies when they are 14? Tough issues to deal with. I’m just happy I wasn’t born into one of these ignorant families, these people are so lost, I can’t help but feel bad for them. They don’t even realize how ignorant their life choices really are, they think it’s normal.
jcer says:
June 3, 2014 at 1:12 pm
Michael the winner is and has always been those with resources, do you own land, water, oil, other energy sources, raw materials, etc. Robotics just means fewer people can get involved in wealth creation if the demand for product and the size of the population remains static, which assuredly it will not. The less tedium the better, unfortunately it is the dolt/ditch digger class that is rapidly procreating. Rich and smart people probably average 2 kids or less, the dumbest people in society have that many by the time their 17.
jcer [66],
It’s funny, I used to hate Clinton because of his ideology but I will admit, he certainly was an All-American boy and did adjust after the ’96 midterms. I didn’t agree with him but I did admire his ability to lead and communicate. I liked Bush W., I voted for him twice but I don’t have a general feeling either way. Reagan, in my opinion, epitomized the greatness of America. I idolized him. But this guy in there now? He’s a total con artist – a real sneaky, defiant BS artist with zero skills and totally unqualified. He possesses no leadership skills at all and is a complete narcissist with an angry view of our country. Nothing about him rings true and he reeks of pessimism. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
What does your empathy for certain individuals have anything to do with Ragnar/other people?
71.Michael says:
June 3, 2014 at 2:10 pm
I’ll take this.
Yes, very dangerous negatives. Just as dangerous, as keeping the minimum wage too low. 15 dollars is good for seattle, it is not good for some town in Alabama. The minimum wage should reflect the minimum cost to survive in that location without govt assistance. Not below, or not above.
Fast Eddie says:
June 3, 2014 at 2:02 pm
anon (the good one),
Is there any downside to raising the minimum wage to $15/hr.?
I was trying to reason as to why I think the way I do, and the reasons why Ragner thinks the way he does. You think he is empathetic towards people at the bottom? If I lose my empathy, I would no doubt take on ayn rand as my hero.
joyce says:
June 3, 2014 at 2:13 pm
What does your empathy for certain individuals have anything to do with Ragnar/other people?
71.Michael says:
June 3, 2014 at 2:10 pm
Silly me, I thought you wanted to turn your empathy into assistance for some people. And by assistance, I mean forcibly take it from other people.
75.Michael says:
June 3, 2014 at 2:18 pm
I was trying to reason as to why I think the way I do, and the reasons why Ragner thinks the way he does. You think he is empathetic towards people at the bottom? If I lose my empathy, I would no doubt take on ayn rand as my hero.
By this definition, the cost to survive varies greatly on the specific individual. kid living at home, or young adult living on their own, or DINK, or has 4 children, or rents, or has mort., or owns free & clear, or has student debt, or uses grandma for daycare, or … or … or
“The minimum wage should reflect the minimum cost to survive in that location without govt assistance. “
Gary (70):
Do not expect a response. Dolts like anon only see the benefits of a $15/hour minimum wage. People like him are the ones who come to work one day and find that their job has been replaced by touch screens or machines. He then would accuse the owners of being greedy, uncaring, evil, hateful, spiteful, racist (just say no to slavery reparations), sexist (anti-abortion and all men are pro-rape), anti-LGBT, 1% loving, money hoarding, cheap, war mongering, and fossil fuel loving Nazis.
Yes, that’s exactly what I was saying. I know prob not in my lifetime, but you never know. Who knows how long we will live for with advances in bio-tech. My point is that it is inevitable that machines will eventually replace humans. It’s not a maybe, but a when? The economy will need to change. It will have to focus on something else other than labor. What that is, I have no clue at all. Should be interesting.
jcer says:
June 3, 2014 at 1:33 pm
Also what you are talking about would have to usher in a total change in the economy because it would collapse in short order in such a scenario. No matter what happens the employment picture would never get to that point because if it did there would be anarchy on the streets.
Michael labor is still the focus, what shifts is the importance of humans, people cannot be totally replaced, hence why we pay for art or fine cuisine which all is in essence human expression and it resonates with people. What will happen is you will have employment but people will work a lot less and the socio-ecomonic strata will remain, some people will be more high value than others and the poor class will be even more decimated than ever. So much of our economy today is not based on labor, look at people talking about sales, that is pure human interaction not some innate magic skill but rather being able to relate to another person and understand their thinking and motivations in a business interaction.
Prime example of someone that lacks empathy. He doesn’t see how he attacks the poor class, but gets upset when the poor class resents the rich for taking away their job and leaving them with no way to survive.
That’s what you guys don’t get. Who is going to take care of these people, do we just let them die? That is the big question. Fine take away their jobs, and when they can’t make money to survive, let them and their families die. I wish it was that simple, but it’s not. These people will not just die, they will go into survivor mode, with no welfare or no jobs, the end result will always be for these people to go and steal to survive. So before we can get rid of the minimum wage and welfare, we must make sure that every single person has opportunity to get some kind of job. If you can’t provide everyone with a job, you need a welfare system, otherwise the system will fall apart.
All Hype says:
June 3, 2014 at 2:24 pm
Gary (70):
Do not expect a response. Dolts like anon only see the benefits of a $15/hour minimum wage. People like him are the ones who come to work one day and find that their job has been replaced by touch screens or machines. He then would accuse the owners of being greedy, uncaring, evil, hateful, spiteful, racist (just say no to slavery reparations), sexist (anti-abortion and all men are pro-rape), anti-LGBT, 1% loving, money hoarding, cheap, war mongering, and fossil fuel loving Nazis.
[71]
Worrying about the dolts/ditch diggers is where I am different from most of the posters on this blog. I have a really compassionate side to my personality.
BS. The poor and downtrodden are worried about themselves as much or more than Ragnar or I. That’s why they vote their pocketbooks as much as I do. Its also why you’re not worried about the REAL 90% — the rest of the world — just the 91-99 %ile that are here in the US.
The left agitates for redistribution becuase it places leftist elites in positions of power over who gets what. People like yourself like to bask in the warm glow of how much better they are than their fellow man because of voting for some government thug to steal from their neighbor and give it to someone else.
Michael show us some compassion. Action speaks louder than words. Donate 15% of you pretax income to Salvation Army and post a pic of your receipt here.
Once again well said, I think you are on point with this. Thanks for pointing this out. You can see how much of our economy is a service now. What happens when machines take over that service? For example google is developing a driver less car. People that drive people around for a living, say bye to your job. This is going to get exactly like you describe. An even higher division between rich and poor. There will be only so many opportunities available to create wealth at the bottom in order to move up.
jcer says:
June 3, 2014 at 2:32 pm
Michael labor is still the focus, what shifts is the importance of humans, people cannot be totally replaced, hence why we pay for art or fine cuisine which all is in essence human expression and it resonates with people. What will happen is you will have employment but people will work a lot less and the socio-ecomonic strata will remain, some people will be more high value than others and the poor class will be even more decimated than ever. So much of our economy today is not based on labor, look at people talking about sales, that is pure human interaction not some innate magic skill but rather being able to relate to another person and understand their thinking and motivations in a business interaction.
“Prime example of someone that lacks empathy. He doesn’t see how he attacks the poor class, but gets upset when the poor class resents the rich for taking away their job and leaving them with no way to survive.”
Come on Michael, give it a rest already. Myself and everyone on this board, except JJ, really does worry about the poor. We all try to help in our best ability but the gubbmint trying to rob from Peter to pay Paul is causing a great issue with most of us.
I support programs for the poor. I don’t attack them. I willingly support them through my taxes. Donating 15% to salvation army is the stupidest thing you can do. You know how much that ceo makes at salvation army?
Juice Box says:
June 3, 2014 at 2:48 pm
Michael show us some compassion. Action speaks louder than words. Donate 15% of you pretax income to Salvation Army and post a pic of your receipt here.
Cumon Michael your tithing does not count. What percentage of your income do you give to an charity that actually helps house the poor?
“The agents did nothing unlawful here, Ms. Daly did,” Catherine Crooks Hill, senior assistant attorney general told Hudson at a brief hearing on the motion to dismiss. In Virginia, she said, there is no right to resist even an illegal detention by police.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/state-dismissed-from-million-suit-against-abc/article_e38b0f00-eb33-11e3-b335-001a4bcf6878.html
“…criminal charges won’t be pursued.” color me shocked
http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2014/06/02/judge-lawyer-tussle-in-brevard-courtroom/9886361/
In the video, Murphy and Weinstock exchange words about a case after Weinstock refuses to waive one clients’ right to a speedy trial.
“You want to set it for docket sounding, set it for docket sounding. I’m not waiving in any case. This is an emergency created by the state,” the attorney says.
Murphy responds: “You know if I had a rock I would throw it at you right now. Stop pissing me off. Just sit down. I’ll take care of it. I don’t need your help. Sit down.”
“You know what? I’m the public defender I have a right to be here and I have a right to stand and represent my clients.”
“I said sit down. If you want to fight lets go out back and I’ll just beat your ass.”
The men disappear off camera, and loud banging can be heard. Public Defender Blaise Trettis said the men went into a hallway behind the courtroom typically used by judges and jurors.
“The lawyer said as soon as he got in the hallway the judge grabbed him by the collar and began punching him in the head,” Trettis said. Trettis said Weinstock tried to stop the blows, and courtroom bailiffs came into the hallway and pulled the two apart.
On the video, while they are off camera, one of the men says: “I’m not kidding. You wanna [expletive] with me?”
The judge returns to the courtroom, but the attorney does not, according to the video. Murphy is out of breath when he retakes his seat.
“I will catch my breath eventually,” he says. Those gathered in the courtroom applaud.
re #88 – lucky she ain’t dead she hit two cops with her car, they usually unload the whole clip when that happens.
It was a kindergarten class piece of art that Jessie Sansone probably won’t want to hang on the refrigerator anytime soon.
After Jesse Sansone’s 4-year-old daughter drew a picture of a gun, cops handcuffed the clueless father and dragged him off to jail. It was there that the dad was stripped of his clothes and searched by the authorities. Sansone was never charged with a crime.
Sansone wasn’t expecting to be greeted by police when he went to pick up his three children from school last week. Faculty there had become concerned, however, after the man’s 4-year-old daughter drew an image last Wednesday that they thought warranted investigation. It was a picture of a man holding a gun, and when teachers asked the girl to explain it, she said it was a depiction of her father.
“He uses it to shoot bad guys and monsters,” teachers say the girl explained.
The father says he doesn’t own a gun. Nor does he kill monsters.
“I’m picking up my kids and then, next thing you know, I’m locked up,” Sansone, 26, tells The Record out of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
“I was in shock. This is completely insane. My daughter drew a gun on a piece of paper at school,” he says.
After seeing the image in question, the school’s staff became shocked as well. So much so, in fact, that they rang up child welfare officials and local law enforcement and arranged for them to meet the girl’s father at the end of the school day. By that evening, Sansone had been handcuffed, whisked away to jail and forced to remove his clothes so he could be subjected to a strip search.
Authorities took all three of Sansone’s children and dragged them to Family and Children’s Services to be interviewed. His wife, Stephanie Squires, tells The Record that authorities never explained themselves.
“He had absolutely no idea what this was even about. I just kept telling them. ‘You’re making a mistake,’ ” she says.
Despite her pleas, the ordeal went on for hours. Sansone says he was scared and was told he would be charged with possession of a firearm. The problem was, he says, that he doesn’t own a gun. After being held for hours, Sansone was eventually freed from jail and was asked to authorize a search of his home. Though he didn’t have to comply, he says he did so anyway.
Authorities did not recover any weapons in their search (or monsters). His wife says they knew they wouldn’t. The police, she says, acted on an assumption and nothing else.
“The way everything happened was completely unnecessary, especially since we know the school very well. I don’t understand how they came to that conclusion from a four-year-old’s drawing,” she says.
The girl’s father was pretty surprised the school acted that way, as well. Only last year, he says, the principal offered him a job as a counselor there. Sansone is a licensed personal support worker that educates children in classrooms across the region. The principal, Steve Zack, tells The Record that it was the welfare agency’s decision to involve the authorities.
“Police chose to arrest Jessie here. Nobody wants something like this to happen at any time, especially not at school. But that’s out of my hands,” Zack explains.
Sansone and his family are left wondering why the investigation carried out as far as it did, however. When The Record followed up on the story days later, Waterloo Regional Police Inspector Kevin Thaler told them, “We had every concern, based on this information that children were in danger.” The information is now being called into question after Thaler adds that investigators never saw the drawing. Neither has Sansone or the school’s superintendent.
Police add that the strip-search was necessary since it was a firearms-related incident.
http://rt.com/usa/jail-sansone-gun-waterloo-333/
well said
Michael says:
June 3, 2014 at 2:42 pm
Prime example of someone that lacks empathy. He doesn’t see how he attacks the poor class, but gets upset when the poor class resents the rich for taking away their job and leaving them with no way to survive.
That’s what you guys don’t get. Who is going to take care of these people, do we just let them die? That is the big question. Fine take away their jobs, and when they can’t make money to survive, let them and their families die. I wish it was that simple, but it’s not. These people will not just die, they will go into survivor mode, with no welfare or no jobs, the end result will always be for these people to go and steal to survive. So before we can get rid of the minimum wage and welfare, we must make sure that every single person has opportunity to get some kind of job. If you can’t provide everyone with a job, you need a welfare system, otherwise the system will fall apart.
All Hype [78],
Of course I won’t get a response. Just like I won’t get a response asking what would a so-called bleeding heart liberal do if someone handed them 10 million bucks tax free. You and I know d.amn well they’d buy a fancy car and live in a neighborhood that’s the complete opposite of “diversity” and “community.”
Does the Mexican Quant poop behind your computer, like the Mexican landscaper?
Seems the trolls are shitting all over themselves when I don’t engage them.
Tard you have been around long enough to remember that one. Was it Pretorious? I forgot…
Which one? The landscaper pooping in the yard? That was the Vidalia bond man JJ.
This, from a self-described liberal economist:
http://johnhcochrane.blogspot.com/2013/09/mcdonalds-and-minimum-wage.html
No comment necessary except to say invest accordingly.
Tard lol trip down memory lane.
Frank and his Mexican Quants.
https://ca.search.yahoo.com/search?n=10&ei=UTF-8&va_vt=any&vo_vt=any&ve_vt=any&vp_vt=any&vf=all&vm=i&fl=0&p=frank+mexican+quant&vs=njrereport.com
re # 93 – Eddie as soon as he got the money our resident star of real housewives of Wayne would quickly move out of his million dollar center hall colonial into this house 12,000 sq ft house in Towaco to run his charitable slumlord business.
http://goo.gl/7DFS59
[98] redux,
I think I have been focusing on the wrong metric in the minimum wage effect. Instead of trying to identify the tech that will replace workers, which will be diffuse, I should be looking at businesses that will necessarily suffer and short them.
McDonalds comes to mind but they might not be the best example. The best short candidate will be a labor-intensive business that relies on low wage workers, can’t be outsourced, and cannot readily adopt new technologies. It must also be in a business that is susceptible to elastic demand and substitution effect.
Anyone want to come up with a screen?
Nom [101],
Loading trucks in a warehouse/distribution center.
someplace to start the search . . .
http://thecontributor.com/america%E2%80%99s-list-companies-most-low-wage-workers-will-piss-you
[102] eddie
No, those workers are easy to replace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noxpHXhm4IM
Amazon bought a robotics company and will outfit all of its distribution centers with Kiva robots. They pick the orders. There are load handling systems that can load pallets. And the automated forklifts can load the trucks.
So you can have a distribution center with no people around except the truck drivers that come and go at the loading docs. Hell, even security can be outsourced with a single officer watching cameras from several buildings. Motion detection systems will bring up any movement and algorithims can determine if the movements are suspicious or not. Those images go up on the screens to be evaluated by the security officer sitting in Manila.
So labor won a victory against Amazon when it got increases for fulfillment center staff but it probably lost the war.
[102] eddie,
I want labor intensive business that will see its costs, be unable to substitute capital for labor, unable to outsource, and is subject to demand destruction. That is the short play for the min. wage issue IMHO.
The problem is that min wage is like a tax. It hits all businesses. Now, I am thinking Applebees/IHOP because they cannot transition to the tech model very easily, can’t be outsourced, and cannot sustain price hikes without losing customers.
In an unrelated, and clearly irrelevant, topic, I cannot believe that they let this woman get in front of a camera again.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/susan-rice-biggest-loser-bergdahl-163200598.html
Seriously? After the last time, you think that they would assign her to the visa desk in Turkmenistan so as to not come near a camera on a Sunday.
Definitely, and that’s where it gets complicated.
Honestly, we should pay these people to not have babies. Every child you have on welfare, you get a penalty. Every child you don’t have, you get rewarded. Showing them that you can get ahead if you have less babies. Give them a large reward like 15,000 for no kids and 10,000 for 1 kid. After 1 kid, you get penalized and lose your reward. The current welfare system rewarding you with more money per child is not doing anyone a favor. We can finance the rewards by savings in the future not going towards education or welfare for these children.
joyce says:
June 3, 2014 at 2:24 pm
By this definition, the cost to survive varies greatly on the specific individual. kid living at home, or young adult living on their own, or DINK, or has 4 children, or rents, or has mort., or owns free & clear, or has student debt, or uses grandma for daycare, or … or … or
“The minimum wage should reflect the minimum cost to survive in that location without govt assistance. “
Or… you could put YOUR money where your mouth is rather than other people’s money.
This is pretty disturbing.
“AnonymousSeptember 20, 2013 at 6:24 AM
Dr Cochrane,
here’s a fact that I thought you might be interested in knowing: the average age of a fast food worker has gone dramatically up during the past decade in the US; it’s currently around 30 years old, wherein in 2002 and it was around 22.
(source: http://www.davemanuel.com/2011/04/21/the-average-age-of-a-fast-food-worker-in-the-united-states-is/)
So the idea that these employees are teenagers at the start of their careers isn’t, at this current period of time, correct. This may or may not change your analysis, in the sense that it seems that McDonalds is no longer providing performing the role of ‘the first job experience’ you attribute to it, or, at the very least, is doing much less so than before.
Also, I have a question: if the minimum wage goes up, do you think we should see increases in wages of other low-tier workers, both at McDonalds and other places, who receive more than the minimum wage?
Thanks.”
Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a. Captain Justice says:
June 3, 2014 at 3:47 pm
This, from a self-described liberal economist:
http://johnhcochrane.blogspot.com/2013/09/mcdonalds-and-minimum-wage.html
No comment necessary except to say invest accordingly.
Can anyone find the exact original posts which created the Frank Mexican Quant meme, and the JJ -onion-lover meme? Are they real or mythical?
I have seen the original JJ someone’s vomit on crushed valor story.
109- People who write these articles need to find a new argument. This is the same argument that has been used everytime the minimum wage has increased or was established. If they were and are correct then why hasn’t their dire predictions come true?
@vicenews: The NRA says that ordering a burrito with a rifle is “just not neighborly”: http://t.co/m8NV4TRRhm http://t.co/zmXovp8kij
subsidize daycare so parents can get to work
daycare is more expensive that minimum wage
Michael says:
June 3, 2014 at 5:21 pm
Definitely, and that’s where it gets complicated.
Honestly, we should pay these people to not have babies. Every child you have on welfare, you get a penalty. Every child you don’t have, you get rewarded. Showing them that you can get ahead if you have less babies. Give them a large reward like 15,000 for no kids and 10,000 for 1 kid. After 1 kid, you get penalized and lose your reward. The current welfare system rewarding you with more money per child is not doing anyone a favor. We can finance the rewards by savings in the future not going towards education or welfare for these
and drive up the price of daycare more, well done
Any time the government comes in to manipulate markets, the unintended consequences tend to outweigh whatever short-term benefit was intended.
Yea, that reward system to encourage people to not have kids would end up a disaster. The abortion rate will go through the roof. Even worst, babies will be getting left on doorsteps. It will also destroy our economy by reducing the population much too quickly, think japan, a bunch of old people with no youth to support them.
Libturd at home says:
June 3, 2014 at 9:51 pm
Any time the government comes in to manipulate markets, the unintended consequences tend to outweigh whatever short-term benefit was intended.
[115] libturd
Economists call that distortion. Even liberal economists.
There has to be a joke in here somewhere…..
Hog Castrator Ernst Wins Republican Iowa Senate Nomination
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-04/hog-castrator-ernst-wins-republican-iowa-senate-nomination-1-.html
Holder’s gun grab via Operation Choke Point
http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/25668177/holders-gun-grab-via-operation-choke-point
Re:118
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=F_mOU8mDBNDgsASj5oGwDw&url=http://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dp9Y24MFOfFU&cd=4&ved=0CCgQtwIwAw&usg=AFQjCNH4I6PPy1eRwxCeG3clBzLgFG5Bww
Gubmint can subsidize daycare, then offer daycare financing.
Should work great.
The next big bubble. Parents going into debt for daycare….lol
Transfuse the Cadaver says:
June 4, 2014 at 7:21 am
Gubmint can subsidize daycare, then offer daycare financing.
Should work great.
“”Those who are globally minded who have quite a bit of wealth — this is becoming a must-have,” Rambus said.”
http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/01/luxury/wealthy-tax-residence/index.html
Seems that MSM is about to start connecting the dots on second citizenship and taxpatriation. Especially the estate issue. Once this issue gets attention in liberal press, there will be a rush to the exits. If Congress mentions it, there will be a flood