September Beige Book

From the Fed:

Beige Book – September 3, 2014 – New York

The Second District’s economy has continued to expand at a moderate pace since the last report. Prices of finished goods and services remain generally steady, while businesses continue to report moderate upward pressure on input prices. Labor market conditions continue to improve: Overall, business contacts report some pickup in hiring, and employment agencies describe the job market as strengthening. Service sector firms report that growth has picked up slightly since the last report, while manufacturers say that growth has moderated somewhat. General merchandise retailers report that sales were mixed in July but improved in early August; auto dealers report that sales were mixed but generally steady. Tourism activity has continued to show strength since the last report. Home sales and rental markets were steady to stronger, with inventories still low but rising. Commercial real estate markets have been mixed. Finally, banks report that household loan demand has leveled off but that demand from commercial borrowers continues to grow; they also note little change in credit standards and ongoing declines in delinquency rates across the board.

The District’s housing markets have been mixed but a bit firmer, on balance, since the last report. New York City’s rental market has continued to strengthen, with rents rising at a moderately brisk rate, while the city’s co-op and condo market has been generally stable. Across much of the District, including New York City, home resale activity has receded somewhat, while the inventory of available homes has risen slightly but remains low; selling prices are flat to up slightly. One homebuilding contact in northern New Jersey notes that the tone of the market is fairly positive for multi-family (mostly rental) construction, and that developers are building more ahead of demand. In contrast, single-family developers are reluctant to build any significant inventories of new homes. A contact in New York City notes that there is a good deal of new development in the pipeline and expects sales and closings to pick up in the months ahead; this contact also sees a good deal of new construction in the planning stage–largely condos in Manhattan and rental apartments in Brooklyn and Queens.

The labor market has shown further signs of strengthening since the last report. Manufacturers continue to add workers, on balance, and considerably more plan to increase than to reduce staffing levels in the months ahead. A growing proportion of service firms say they are hiring, though there has been little change in the proportion that say they are raising wages. One major New York City employment agency reports that hiring activity has continued to improve gradually, while another reports more widespread strengthening and notes increased wage pressures across the board. A growing proportion of workers are said to be switching jobs for increased pay. One trucking industry analyst reports that the industry is doing well but cites a chronic shortage of drivers and notes that this has intensified somewhat in recent months.

This entry was posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, New Jersey Real Estate. Bookmark the permalink.

118 Responses to September Beige Book

  1. grim says:

    Philly Beige Book

    Third District homebuilders have reported little change in sales overall since the last Beige Book period, although results are mixed across the District. A New Jersey builder reported another weak month in July but noted a slight pickup in August. In Pennsylvania, a north-central builder credited shale gas money for prompting greater-than-normal numbers of contract signings in July and August. “First-time homebuyers are nonexistent,” according to a south-central homebuilder who reported that this August is worse than last year. Residential real estate brokers reported continued slight improvements in sales this period on a par with the prior Beige Book period at the beginning of this summer season. However, on a year-over-year basis, most major markets remain somewhat weaker. Central Pennsylvania is an exception with slight increases reported for existing homes sales in the Harrisburg area. Declines in the Greater Philadelphia area were smaller than during the last Beige Book period; declines in the Jersey Shore area were greater. A major Philadelphia-area broker expressed little change in activity from the last Beige Book period, reiterating that sales were definitely doing better than they were earlier in the year and that higher-priced homes were selling slowly but all other homes were moving quickly. Brokers remain optimistic for further improvement in 2015.

  2. grim says:

    Rumor has it that the Taj is circling the bowl.

    I’d imagine that the existing (remaining?) casinos are going to see a massive revenue boost this fall.

  3. 1987 Condo says:

    EU Rate cuts…Deposit rate cut further negative .2 (-0.2)

  4. Comrade Nom Deplume, Guardian of the Realm says:

    Mass approved casinos and has even awarded some licenses but there is a push on to repeal the law. AC will figure prominently in that push. I don’t expect the effort to succeed but I am sure that surrounding states are quietly supporting it. I could easily see RI and NH looking to secure that business and would love it if Mass repealed it’s casino law.

  5. Michael says:

    re-post from last night……signs of wage inflation? But i’m just an idiot.

    “Those who say that there is no wage pressure are not looking at the data. The Fed looks at five different measures of wages: Average hourly earnings for all workers, Average hourly earnings for nonsupervisory workers, Employment Cost Index, Median usual weekly earnings, and Unit labor costs. One year ago all of these measures were flat and there was no sign anywhere of rising wage inflation. Today, 2-3 of these measures are on a clear uptrend, see charts below. This is not surprising given the labor market continues to tighten, including in the JOLTS data yesterday and NFP last week. Or put differently, if there really is so much slack in the labor market why are any of these wage measures then trending higher?”

    Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/wage-pressure-charts-2014-7#ixzz3CJVWBGYy

  6. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    ^^^^ I’ll re-ignore from last night too.

  7. Comrade Nom Deplume, Guardian of the Realm says:

    I’m returning to an idea I had before, the creation of a dystopian fund. Basically , invest in companies that stand to profit from the breakdown of society, spoliation of the environment, and resulting upheavals. Motif might be a good platform.

    Interestingly, it wouldn’t look very different from an average portfolio.

  8. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    In Shocking Move, ECB Cuts By 10 Bps, Sends Deposit Rate Further Into Negative Territory

    “While everyone was expecting Mario Draghi to announce ABS purchases, few if any had expected the ECB to also cut rates. Which it just did whacking its corridor rates across the board by 10 bps, in the process sending the Deposit Facility rate even further into negative territory, now down at -0.2%.”

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-09-04/shocking-move-ecb-cuts-10-bps-sends-deposit-rate-further-negative-territory

  9. 1987 Condo says:

    EU will start QE in October…..

  10. NJT says:

    Grim (#1)

    “In Pennsylvania, a north-central builder credited shale gas money for prompting greater-than-normal numbers of contract signings in July and August. ”

    Shale gas boom money is drying up quickly. Some landowners are not even being paid anymore. That ‘goldrush’ is over, for now.

  11. anon (the good one) says:

    TIFU by letting my boyfriend finger me (self.tifu)
    submitted 15 hours ago by uteruinestench

    It was supposed to be romantic. It was our last night together before he left on a plane, not to see me for months, and we were about to get groovy.

    We were under the stars, kissing and holding each other and spending a long time on the perfect foreplay. It was f@cking amazing. We were ready to f@ck like animals and to make sweet love all at once.

    We were naked and touching each other to build up suspense, and he began to finger me hard, leaving me moaning, but with an… odd… sensation as well.

    “There’s something inside you,” he said.

    “There’s nothing, don’t stop,” I replied, uneasily.

    “No, there’s something inside you. It feels plastic.”

    Horror chills my veins. It had been about two weeks since my period. But I knew then that I had left my menstrual cup (basically a plastic cup for blood/period gunk not to be left in longer than 12 hours) in for the past 14 days.

    IDIOTICALLY, I asked him to help me remove it so we could continue. MOTHER OF GOD… it smelled like an eviscerated decomposing body mixed with rotting broccoli, sewage, and rotting eggs ALL IN ONE. And the smell DID NOT GO AWAY. I threw out the cup and its contents, but the stench of 14 day old rotting blood and uterine gunk is not one that fades easily. I could tell my squeamish boyfriend was trying extremely hard not to lose his shi t and vomit. But it only got worse from there.

    The stench would not leave, and it was coming from my vagina. To try and bring the mood back, I went to the bathroom to try and freshen up. He joined me, perhaps to make me feel less disgusting. Bad idea. With a feeling like an impending queef but somehow thicker, my vagina suddenly emptied a massive glob of this filth and it splattered a surprisingly large amount of brown rotted uterine filth all over my poor boyfriend’s leg… He practically ran home.

  12. anon (the good one) says:

    unmod

  13. chicagofinance says:

    change your handle…..grim blacklisted you…..

    anon (the good one) says:
    September 4, 2014 at 9:11 am
    unmod

  14. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Here are your Northeast Cliff Notes for the Beige Book. Any questions?

    First District–Boston
    “respondents say wages are steady.”
    “Wages are generally flat;”

    Second District–New York
    “A growing proportion of service firms say they are hiring, though there has been little change in the proportion that say they are raising wages.

  15. Michael says:

    Want a trophy? Nice job.

    The Original NJ ExPat says:
    September 4, 2014 at 8:08 am
    ^^^^ I’ll re-ignore from last night too.

  16. anon (the good one) says:

    only time I received a warning here was when expressed support for Palestine

    chicagofinance says:
    September 4, 2014 at 9:19 am
    change your handle…..grim blacklisted you…..

    anon (the good one) says:
    September 4, 2014 at 9:11 am
    unmod

  17. chicagofinance says:

    anon……some hints….any word that can also be a piece of jewelry can throw you into mod…..also the word c-ck….which often is found in c-cktail (Molotov)…also the word soc!ialist contains C!ialis…..

  18. Juice Box says:

    Euro zone is fked. Buying ABS will do nothing for the unemployed masses.

  19. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Mark Cuban talks about the tuition bubble bursting and how student loan debt is a wet blanket on the economy that will eventually end with colleges going belly up.

    http://www.inc.com/mark-cuban/video-student-loans-bubble.html

  20. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [17] Also c@sino

    anon……some hints….any word that can also be a piece of jewelry can throw you into mod…..also the word c-ck….which often is found in c-cktail (Molotov)…also the word soc!ialist contains C!ialis…..

  21. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a. Captain Justice says:

    [20] expat,

    I’ve been expecting colleges to go belly up for years. More prestigious institutions keep sucking up all of the good candidates and keep growing. The only way for the smaller, less prestigious schools to survive is to lower standards. This they have done so now schools like WNEC are regarded as the 13th grade.

    Once parents wise up to the fact that spending money on these schools is like pulling the flush chain, they will start to go belly up or merge with their rivals, kind of like bank mergers in the late 80’s and we know how well that ended.

  22. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a. Captain Justice says:

    [11] anon

    You cannot go by your old affiliation; s0cia!ist is a banned word. Use “progressive”, the rebranded term for s0c!alist.

  23. All Hype says:

    $15/hour to flip burgers…..

    Pretty soon they will be rioting against the robots that will replace them!

    http://www.myfoxny.com/story/26445096/fast-food-protests

  24. Fast Eddie says:

    Michael,

    Fast Eddie, is it making sense to you yet? This is what I’ve been trying to tell you, but I guess you just enjoy calling me an idiot. Guess this is why I make money and you don’t. Best part, when you finally do decide to become a serious buyer, you will be too late. Then you will be saying shoulda, coulda,… No idea why you don’t realize this is as cheap as it’s going to get.

    I didn’t realize you knew my investment strategy nor the rate of return I’m receiving.

  25. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [24] That story should give jj a chubby.

  26. A Home Buyer says:

    Has this blog really devolved into posts like 29?

    I can live with stupidity, I can barely handle senseless political non-posts / tweets / ramblings, but this? Really?

  27. A Home Buyer says:

    29 – Should read 24…

  28. Anon E. Moose says:

    Aren’t we all glad we helped Anon get that gem through the filter?

  29. Anon E. Moose says:

    Proved my theory that the best argument against soci@lism is wider exposure to unfiltered soci@lists.

  30. chicagofinance says:

    The End Is Nigh (poster – A Home Buyer Edition):

    A man allegedly stabbed his roommate several times after he complained he was being too noisy while having a threesome.

    Antonio Flores Narcisso, 42, of Texas, kicked down his roommate’s door after he got fed up with listening to him having s3x with two women, MySanAntonio.com reports.

    Narcisso’s roommate was enjoying the company of the two women as part of his 35th birthday celebrations.

    When the roommate yelled and told Narcisso to leave, he allegedly grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed the alleged victim numerous times in the head, back and hands, according to CBS Houston.

    The roommate was taken to a local hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

    The two women in his company identified Narcisso from a police photo lineup the night he launched his attack, KENS5.com reports.

    Narcisso was only charged this week with burglary of a habitation with the intent to commit felony force for the attack after the May 8 incident.

    He is currently in custody at the Bexar County jail.

  31. Comrade Nom Deplume, Guardian of the Realm says:

    [32] moose

    Not any more stupid than the drivel he usually posts.

  32. Libturd in Union says:

    Did somebody post something?

  33. Fast Eddie says:

    I agree about that anon post. Totally out of line.

  34. grim says:

    Of all the shit that gets blocked….

  35. A Home Buyer says:

    33 – Chi-Fi

    No issue with your post, actually enjoyed it.

    There is a difference between being funny or using innuedo and crossing the line.

    I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it…”

  36. grim says:

    I’m going to moderate that one, not because I’m at all offended by the story, but because it’s patently false. Anyone who knows anything knows that the girl would have probably been admitted to the hospital with septic shock long before that situation.

  37. FKA 2010 Buyer says:

    So who is going to buy houses again if bankers are part of that crowd?

    Investment Banks Face 10-Year Wait for Pre-Crisis Fee Levels

    http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/09/03/investment-banks-face-10-year-wait-for-pre-crisis-fee-levels/

  38. homeboken says:

    I am consistently confused by West Orange. Obviously the property tax situation is abysmal but I am interested in seeing the effect that is having on the market. Does anyone have stats of homes sold in WO on an annual basis?

    At what point do the residents begin to take control of this situation and try to stop the blood? Example – I see numerous listings for the KHOV development in WO called the Bel Aire. There are 3BR townhomes with $22,000 plus annual tax bills. This is for a townhome with no yard? Also – WO High School is pretty terrible. Where is that money going? Are these houses sellable at any price?

    WO seems to me to be the poster child for the tax state gone crazy, is there any way back?

  39. anon (the good one) says:

    can’t believe that extreme right wingers are such a prude, humorless old f@rts.

    of all the hateful, extreme right wing venom posted here on a daily basis you pick a joke to moderate?

    this is your site and you can censor all you like, but nobody censors anon (the good one)!

    good bye

    grim says:
    September 4, 2014 at 11:56 am
    I’m going to moderate that one, not because I’m at all offended by the story, but because it’s patently false. Anyone who knows anything knows that the girl would have probably been admitted to the hospital with septic shock long before that situation.

  40. NJGator says:

    Grim check your email.

  41. chicagofinance says:

    women don’t use the word “queef”….so it is obviously a guy who wrote it….

    anon (the good one) says:

    September 4, 2014 at 12:33 pm

    can’t believe that extreme right wingers are such a prude, humorless old f@rts.

    of all the hateful, extreme right wing venom posted here on a daily basis you pick a joke to moderate?

    this is your site and you can censor all you like, but nobody censors anon (the good one)!

    good bye

    grim says:
    September 4, 2014 at 11:56 am
    I’m going to moderate that one, not because I’m at all offended by the story, but because it’s patently false. Anyone who knows anything knows that the girl would have probably been admitted to the hospital with septic shock long before that situation.

  42. chicagofinance says:

    BTW – I took the anon post as just another version of his trolling flame bait…..

  43. Libturd in Union says:

    Queef Latina?

  44. Juice Box says:

    If Anon leaves can we throw a party? I will even come to that GTG.

  45. Libturd in Union says:

    Maybe we can have Michael arrange the catering for this GTG.

  46. Comrade Nom Deplume, Guardian of the Realm says:

    A Jersey town made this list

    http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/10-safest-towns-and-cities-in-which-to-live-in-america.html/9/?ref=OB

    Of course, I can’t help but note three Mass towns also made the list.

  47. Comrade Nom Deplume, Guardian of the Realm says:

    [39] grim

    I wondered about that. But I really didn’t delve as it was an anon post. I also noticed what chifi noticed. No woman would say queef. And quim has fallen out of usage, which dates me.

  48. Libturd in Union says:

    Time to shoot up Franklin Mass.

  49. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Lambda Chi was a great frat at RU until they disappeared after a alcohol-related
    fatality sometime after my time at Rutgers. They’re claim to fame was “Always on tap.” it was our go-to after hours hangout after the pub closed at 2AM. Lots of beer-pong, lots of puking. Good times, good times. Looks like they’ll be gone from MIT now too.

    http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/09/04/mit-bans-large-frat-parties-after-woman-falls-from-window/P4M8cGuO3NsMNU737CRNNO/story.html

    MIT officials have banned large parties and gatherings at university fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups, days after a woman fell from a frat house window, MIT’s newspaper The Tech reports.

    The woman, who is not an MIT student, fell from a third-story window Sunday night at Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house on Bay State Road. She was taken to the hospital and survived. The case was logged by MIT Police as alcohol-related and referred to an “intoxicated person falling from window.”

    In wake of the fall, Lambda Chi Alpha was suspended from meeting or participating in activities earlier this week pending an investigation, The Boston Globe reported. Both MIT and Lambda Chi Alpha’s international organization suspended the chapter.

  50. NJGator says:

    BTW – For those who haven’t seen it yet, the full list for NJ Monthly’s top High Schools are out. You have to give them your email in order to get the PDF mailed to you.

    Can’t wait to hear the outrage on the Montklair Watercooler about MHS’s drop to #120.

    http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/the-top-high-schools-2014.html

  51. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Newton, MA used to show up on that safest towns list and was embarrassingly rated #1 safest when a love triangle murder-for-hire hit went down. Maybe 4 or 5 years ago IIRC?

  52. Xolepa says:

    (50) – Parma Ohio is kind of a ratty old town, grayish. Been there twice in the last year, to see my son and daughter in law, who lived nearby at the time. Visited Parma to say hi to priest who married me and better half 30 years ago.
    (53) Expat dude – I believe that Lambda Chi case happened after I graduated. That was not the case where the black kid from the Shore college was buried alive and died in a 6 foot mock grave after the sand collapsed around him?
    BTW, I was a Deke there. Yes, animal house all the way. Great stories. Crazy brothers. we were the ones that hung the effigies of the gays on the sidewalk two years in a row on Gay Day.
    note to Anon; Please stay out of this I had nothing to do with it. I will forever keep the perpetrators names secrets. google DKE Effigy gay rutgers

  53. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [56] Xolepa – I think the RU Lambda Chi was just generic forcing a pledge to drink himself to death. Was DKE the frat with the big group bedroom where the windows were kept open all year long so you could sleep in the fresh air all the time if that was your thing. In hindsight, pardon the pun, maybe some Brokeback Mountain cuddling for warmth was going on in that room?

  54. Xolepa says:

    No, DKE was (and still is – we are a working Chapter there again) the big three story brick building across the street from Fords Hall. Down College Ave. Parties were great in the mid-70s. One party we went through 27 full kegs of beer until we ran out. Lines outside along the sidewalk up to corner of Mine Street for people waiting to get in.

  55. Hughesrep says:

    56

    Parma Pierogies kick a$$. Parma is safe because everyone is ancient.

  56. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    1988 was the Lambda Chi incident. I lived on and off campus until ’82 and our crew was pretty much gone by ’83-’84 so that means it’s now 30 years since I lived that life. Wow.

  57. Xolepa says:

    my mistake on the kid who was buried alive. It was a ZBT kid, but from Monmouth U. That frat took a big hit afterwards. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19741117&id=AI4sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=APsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7285,5311820

  58. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [58] Yep, I remember that place and there were some very expansive parties at DKE. Besides Lambda Chi I used to hang out at whatever that other frat was across the street from the River dorms. The only frat down on George Street I think. When I was a 17 year old Freshman in 1977, frat membership was pretty low then and for the next several years. With co-ed dorms, no alcohol policy (except have as much as you want!), and 18 year old drinking age, we were pretty set no matter where we lived. We used to throw 3 keg parties out of our dorm room in 1980 but we had strict dress standards; guys had to wear a tie and girls had to wear high-heeled, open-toe shoes. We used to call those parties Bushwoods, ostensibly borrowed from Caddyshack, but you can read whatever you want into the name;-)

    Short write-up in the NYT on the Lambda Chi incident:

    http://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/14/nyregion/freshman-dies-after-a-fraternity-party-at-rutgers.html

  59. Ragnar says:

    Gator, thanks for the heads up.
    Do they change their formula every time they calculate these? Seems so.
    Poor McNair Academic – fell from #2 to #62. Perhaps because despite high test scores, 0nly 76% end up enrolled in college?
    My town Bridgewater moved up to 76 from 113. It’s a big school in a big area, and not every single neighborhood is “exclusive” enough to prevent some dilution.
    Summit and Madison fell pretty far down.
    In many respects, the statistics being used is judging neighborhoods and social demographics more than the school’s contribution. If your town’s population demographics only has 1% of people at risk for graduating, versus another town with 10% at risk for graduating, the school with minimal at risk population scores much better. If your kid is in AP classes at either school, they probably never share a class with and their education is essentially unaffected by the existence of those at risk kids.
    On the other hand, if your kid isn’t very smart in the first place, its probably better to send them to the top schools, so they can take classes with druggies and other slow students rather than disadvantaged minorities. Unless you want to boost their relative status by making them the star scholar in East Orange or Malcom X Shabazz high schools.

    Some of the school stats are funny. Look at Pleasantville high school with a 4.6 student faculty ratio, yet the kids appear pretty dumb. Maybe too many administrators and featherbed jobs?

  60. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Ranked 4th from the bottom, maybe The Paterson School of Information Technology should change it’s name to The Paterson School of Misinformation Technology ?

  61. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    So what’s the highest ranking Abbot district?

  62. Libturd in Union says:

    My brother was president of ZBT at RU for a couple of years. Until the house was condemned. I remember the steps to the third floor were so worn that you had to waddle up the steps as they were so deeply bent in the middle. I used to DJ at the beautiful white house with the giant columns across the street from ZBT too.

  63. Libturd in Union says:

    The problem with those lists, besides the demographic issues, is that the results will always be bumpy. One need not worry about the exact number. Figure, top 50 or so and the schools are excellent. 50-150, probably ok. Below that, uh oh. Results vary incredibly from year to year. It certain doesn’t help that they keep changing the methodology used. Though ultimately, parenting is really what matters the most.

  64. Ragnar says:

    Maybe the Patterson School of IT provided key programmers for the bommacare website, helped calculate FNMA’s mortgage default rates, CITI’s VaR, and help forecast global warming. Because employment and compensation should be based on need, not merit.

  65. grim says:

    NJ Monthly jumped the shark, they are going to lose all credibility with the updated rankings, the volatility is absurd.

  66. NJGator says:

    Ragnar 63 – My old HS Marlboro moves up from #123 to #9!

    The lists are crap, but the city people love to use them when looking to move to the burbs.

    The reaction in Montklair every time this is released never ceases to amuse me. They have been consistently dropping the last few releases. All the hipsters and hippy dippy flakes moving in from Park Slope love to say how they picked Montklair because it is “diverse”, “unique” and “special”….and then they get their panties in a bunch when some formulaic, cookie cutter ranking doesn’t validate their selection of their land of unicorns.

    As for GR, when we dropped from 4-12 in the last rankings, the Superintendent actually had to make a presentation at a BOE meeting studying the results and the reason for our “precipitous decline in the rankings”. I can only imagine what dropping out of the Top 20 is going to mean :)

  67. grim says:

    Not that they had any real “credibility”, it was more “cachet”, but anyway.

    Going from 123rd to 9th is completely believable.
    As it going from 21st to 100th.

    The fact that there are numerous near 100 point moves makes absolutely no sense. If the methodology changed that dramatically, start a new ranking and don’t bother attempting to compare.

    That said, like always, go long top 25.

  68. NJGator says:

    And 10 of the Top 25 weren’t in the Top 25 last time.

  69. Johnny Carson's Karma says:

    Abe Vigoda > Joan Rivers

  70. 1987 Condo says:

    A big item is percentage of class taking AP courses. west Essex and Verona let all students take AP regardless of grades, etc. They show about 50% in AP classes while Cedar Grove is restrictive based on academic performance and gets dinged…not that WE and Verona aren’t better districts regardless…

  71. Libturd in Union says:

    Montclair also lets anyone and everyone take AP exams. GR, doesn’t.

  72. NJGator says:

    Condo – I know last time around that GR got “dinged” because of the amount of AP classes offered. I know they made a big push to expand that with additional offerings – both virtual and onsite.

    Also with test scores, as a smaller district (we have under 150 in a graduating class), one of our more colorful BOE members said it only takes one or two dullards or kids who had a bad day to throw off your testing numbers.

  73. 1987 Condo says:

    #76….agreed..CG only has 93 in graduating class…but a bubble is moving up. Of course I send my kids to over priced Catholic schools..I’m talking about you MSDA!

  74. grim says:

    If schools are anything like any of the other large public sector organizations I’ve worked with, absolutely nothing of any material value can change in a two year period.

  75. grim says:

    The culture of an organization can’t change in two years, god knows that tenure doesn’t allow the quality of the staff to change dramatically either. Parents in the town haven’t changed that much, nor have the student demographics or aptitude.

  76. 1987 Condo says:

    The districts are “teaching to the test”!!

  77. grim says:

    So putting on the Realtor hat, this is great news, a whole new crop of towns I can sell into, shake it up a bit. Shake up means sales. It’s still early too, better buy now before everyone else learns that XX is the place to be.

  78. 1987 Condo says:

    Districts that “did well” will have meetings explaining how they were responsible for the success, etc. Those that did not will point out the issues with the reporting methodology, etc.

  79. essex says:

    70. For some reason I can’t find it in my heart to give a shit. I know one thing that I won’t move to Chatham just because it is now the “hot district”. I’d rather live in a place based on the ability of it’s residents to hold hands and sing Kumbaya.

  80. Fast Eddie says:

    Where’s Dickinson H.S. ranked? :)

  81. essex says:

    Basically the entire school experience boils down to one thing and one thing only: How is your child doing. Are they happy and productive? Are they well adjusted? Do they have a couple of friends to spend their time with. OK, that was four things, but you get the idea. Everything is quantitative horseshit. You could live in the best school district and if YOUR kid isn’t successful then your opinion of that district is going to decline.

  82. essex says:

    80. The trend is that schools want to show growth and develop in every kid in the room. That means whatever you think it means.

  83. 1987 Condo says:

    My wife has a class that has 40% of kids with IEPs/401(k)s….woops, I mean 504’s

  84. homeboken says:

    Horray for Hoboken! All the way up to 274. Now if we could just get a BOE budget that increased per student spending to $30k per kid, we could easily crack the top 250.

    Related – my oldest started pre-k today in Hoboken. I am determined to be out of here in a year.

  85. NJGator says:

    My friend’s kid just started school in Montklair today and his teacher didn’t even know he had a 504.

  86. 1987 Condo says:

    #89…they should have had that list a week or so ago…

  87. jj says:

    My amazement is Manhasset and Garden City where parents must live there and pay sky high taxes due to the Amazing Public Schools.

    Then they send their kids to Catholic Schools anyhow. And they vote yes on school budget.

    I was coerced by wife to vote yes on last school budget and I live in the town and have three kids in school district and by having a small house any raise hits the bigger houses harder. If I was paying 20K property taxes and catholic school tuition I would go bizerk.

  88. Ragnar says:

    Ayn Rand’s heir’s daughter is moving to Montclair. I warned her about the soc1al1sts there.

  89. jj says:

    They should hire pedophiles and felons to teach in schools in high tax towns. All the parents would pull their kids from the schools and taxes would plumment. Problem solved. We dont need no stinkin schools

    1987 Condo says:

    September 4, 2014 at 4:19 pm

    My wife has a class that has 40% of kids with IEPs/401(k)s….woops, I mean 504′s

  90. Statler Waldorf says:

    Drops in the bucket. Click, a million here, click, a million there.

    “My amazement is Manhasset and Garden City where parents must live there and pay sky high taxes due to the Amazing Public Schools.”

  91. Anon E. Moose says:

    Rags;

    Funny A. Rand anecdote, via John Derbyshire:

    * Objectivism

    • FAQ: Am I an Objectivist?

    • Reply: Again, this is only a couple of readers asking, but I thought it was worth replying, just for the anecdote.

    So readers are asking what I think of Ayn Rand and her works. Well, I can’t claim any close acquaintance with Objectivism, but from the little I know, it seems to be a useful addition to the battery of Right ideas. Every time I see an Objectivist on the telly (O’Reilly occasionally has one on) or read their pieces, I find myself agreeing. And I appreciate them just being there as a marker for irreligious conservatism.

    I find Ayn Rand’s novels tedious stuff, though, and much too long. All I know of her as a person is from Bill Buckley’s books and remarks.

    Here’s one of the latter. True story.

    After Getting It Right came out in 2003, I was early one evening to an editorial dinner at the Buckleys’ on 73rd Street. Bill and Pat were the only ones there. While waiting for other editors to show up, I made conversation about the book.

    At one point I asked my host: “You know, Bill, one reads about how sexual Ayn Rand was and all these lovers she had, yet in her photographs she doesn’t look at all attractive. Was she, in fact, an attractive woman in person?”

    Bill leaned forward, his eyes alight. “Oh, yes! She had …”

    Pat interrupted, addressing me forcefully. “No, not at all. Completely unattractive. No dress sense, makeup a mess …”

    Bill went silent. There was an awkward pause. I started a new topic.

    Make of the story what you will…

  92. Ben says:

    My friend’s kid just started school in Montklair today and his teacher didn’t even know he had a 504.

    This isn’t a big deal. The teacher problem doesn’t know his name or what he looks like yet either. Besides, at this point, 25% of the population has a 504/IEP in school. And no…that wasn’t an exaggeration.

  93. Ben says:

    *problem = probably

  94. All Hype says:

    Lib:

    Was your brother around when ZBT burned to the ground?

    The frat with the columns where you DJ’d was Delta Phi.

  95. Libturd in the babies room says:

    He was out by then (’86).

  96. Michael says:

    “Even though productivity is called the productivity of labor, the amount of capital per worker is the main determinant of the productivity of labor. Productivity usually has more to do with those evil capitalists than those virtuous workers. In this context, today’s GDP weakness is telling. GDP growth didn’t fall because of consumer spending, but because of a chronic lack of business fixed investment (non-residential) spending.

    In any case, a rise in wages would be a healthy development, not one to be dreaded. Higher wages would reflect higher productivity relative to the supply of labor and would only be inflationary generally if it triggers massive monetary expansion. But massive monetary expansion would be inflationary no matter what happens to wages.

    Forget about wage inflation!”

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobmcteer/2014/04/30/wage-inflation/

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