From Bloomberg:
Obama to Cut FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums to Boost Homeownership
In an effort to expand homeownership among lower-income buyers, President Barack Obama plans to cut mortgage-insurance premiums charged by a government agency.
The annual fees the Federal Housing Administration charges to guarantee mortgages will be cut by 0.5 percentage point, to 0.85 percent of the loan balance, Julian Castro, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said today during a conference call with reporters. Under the new premium structure, FHA estimates that 2 million borrowers will be able to save an average of $900 annually over the next three years if they purchase or refinance homes.
…
The FHA has been increasing premiums since 2011 to offset losses caused by defaults on mortgages it backed after the housing bubble burst. Housing industry participants say the increases in annual fees, which are now at 1.35 percent of the loan balance, are squeezing buyers with modest incomes out of the market.“Lots of people have been locked out of the market, particularly lower-wealth borrowers and borrowers of color, by the high prices at FHA,” said Julia Gordon, director of housing finance and policy at the Center for American Progress, a group affiliated with Democrats. The premium cut “does put homeownership within the reach of more people.”
The FHA estimates that 250,000 first-time homebuyers will enter the market after the premium reductions.
…
Democrats and housing groups say reducing FHA fees will help the agency’s bottom line because it will boost the volume of lending, which declined when homebuyers had to pay more to obtain loans. A December study by the Mortgage Bankers Association said the premium increases had reduced the value of the insurance fund by $4.4 billion as higher costs drove away creditworthy borrowers.
Good Morning New Jersey
2nd. Good morning Mike.
Obama to Cut FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums to Boost Home
ownerdebtorshipgrim – It’s a good time to buy refurb macs directly from apple. Most of them aren’t refurbs at all, simply xmas returns. Same warranty as new:
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/imac/27
[3] expat
Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss
Trifecta of dolts yesterday: gluteus, Punkinhead and anon.
Loves gluteus’ response to grim’s “stop spending my money” yesterday: the kind of answer you’d get if you did a coat hanger lobotomy on Krugman and then made the same statement to him.
Flying to CA today for a week of biz. Leaving you bitchez here to freeze.
Somewhere on my day trip to Minneapolis on Monday did I manage to contract some sort of Ebola virus that has me nearly crippled with coughing and deaf in my left ear. Have a good flight.
[prior thread] Fabian,
SMH. I was sorely tempted to abandon my pledge to not feed trolls and abuse you mercilessly, but I think that anyone with a semblance of critical reasoning skills would agree that you’ve saved me the trouble.
Besides, right now I have to take my dogs for a walk so they can shiite. That is a far better use of my time than responding to your really weak posts.
I gather you aren’t especially skilled at it, but I’ve met you and thought you could carry an argument better than that. Was I that wrong?
I just realized I haven’t been on a plane since 2003 when I took the family to Florida in weather just like this. Since then I don’t think I’ve been any further South than Sea Bright NJ and I haven’t been any further West than Bloomsburg, PA. My world is collapsing in on itself.
[6] clot
I know you can’t stand the guy but if I were assembling a team to sit with me at counsel’s table, Passionfruit, erratic as he may be, is the only one of the three I would even consider hiring.
And if I were passionfruit, I would be absolutely indignant at being lumped in the same strata as anon and Fabian.
[8] clot,
I just got back from someplace colder. At least I can breathe here.
Enjoy the trip. Hope you aren’t connecting through O’Hare. I despise that place.
While the major airports all suck, the one thing they have going for them is the potential to get back home in bad weather is significantly higher than with smaller airports. Especially the hubs, even if it’s a hub for another airline.
I was flying American on Monday, EWR-ORD-MSP and back same day. Weather was shitty, wind on the east coast messed everything up. Made it out to MSP late, but made it. On the way back was seriously delayed out of Minn, snow there, snow in Chi, and the wind in the east. My flight from CHI-EWR was cancelled before I even left MSP. American rebooked me direct on Delta which was a lifesaver, otherwise I’d be stuck in Minn for the night, and have to attempt the same route the next morning. Ended up back home earlier than I would have otherwise, despite the delays.
Little airport, you get stuck all the time, and because it’s not a hub, rebooking on another airline is generally limited. They also seem to cancel flights much more frequently. Little weather and an underbooked plane, done.
I hate flying through Canada, hate it. Quebec is the worst airport in the world. I’ve never been anywhere more rude. JFK/EWR/LAX/ORD – These places are all wonderful compared to Quebec. Toronto and Vancouver are passable, but Quebec drags the whole lot down.
I understand a certain Bergen County school high school is closed today because it’s too cold. Ah, yes… the sweet, pudgy, precious millenials. I guess they checked their privilege. :o
Weekly jobless claims at 294k, down 4k. 4wk average at 290,500 – under 300k for nearly 1/3rd of a year now. Strong strong numbers.
We haven’t argued about this in a while. Apple h8rZ get it wrong. From CNBC:
Apple’s iPhone 6 dents Android’s crown
Android’s share of the smartphone market has shrunk in the U.S. for the first time since 2013, according to new research, as the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus helped Apple’s iOS make market-share gains around the world.
The market share of Android — the mobile operating software developed by Google – fell by 2 percentage points, year-on-year, in the U.S. over the three months ending November 2014, according to Kantar Worldpanel on Wednesday.
It also slipped by over 3 percentage points across Europe’s five biggest countries, and tanked by 6.7 percentage points in the U.K.
Looks like the ADP numbers came in above estimates too (not that they aren’t always wrong).
Grim…did you catch this:
http://www.torontosun.com/2015/01/05/price-is-right-contestants-think-iphone-6-worth-us7500
Grim – sorry to hear about the computer. I’ll echo the sentiment on apple refurbs. I’ve bought 2 27s with no problems last few years. Prices aren’t great, but better.
I hear Paterson is taking a billion dollar loan from the State of NJ to fix it’s overflowing shit problem. As long as they stay on track, half of that will be forgiven. That’s billion with a “B”.
Who says we don’t invest in infrastructure?
This is what I call creative financing, taking out a mortgage in a foreign currency.
—————
Mortgage payments now larger than salaries for some Russians due to ruble’s rapid collapse
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — When they took out a mortgage on a small two-room apartment seven years ago, Oksana Li and her husband hoped to make a new home for themselves and their young son.
Now, like thousands of other Russians, they are seeing that dream unravel as they are unable to make payments — even by working longer hours and a second job.
That’s because they are part of a minority of Russians who took out mortgages denominated in a foreign currency to take advantage of lower interest rates abroad. As Russia’s currency collapsed in recent months, the cost of repaying those mortgages has gone through the roof.
http://business.financialpost.com/2015/01/06/mortgage-payments-now-larger-than-salaries-for-some-russians-due-to-rubles-rapid-collapse/
His views are in line with most others but I thought his prediction on cyber terrorism was very interesting.
Blackstone Vice Chairman Byron Wien wants to take the surprise out of life in 2015.
To summarize in 10 short sentences
1. The Federal Reserve finally raises short-term interest rates
2. Our luck runs out on cyber terrorism
3. The year-end 2014 rally in United States equities continues as the market rises for a strong performance in 2015
4. Mario Draghi finally begins to expand the balance sheet of the European Central Bank aggressively by buying sovereign debt, mortgages and corporate bonds
5. Shock and awe no longer works in Japan
6. China reports that it is no longer growing at 7%
7. The drop in the price of oil finally has an impact on Iran
8. Brent slips into the $40s
9. The spread between high yield and Treasurys is cut in half
10. The Republicans decide to position the party as the one that can get something done in Washington
http://hedgeaccordingly.com/2015/01/blackstone-vice-chairman-byron-wien-reveals-ten-surprises-for-2015%E2%80%B3-bx.html
[14] grim
Too many bad experiences at ORD. In fact, all of them. Never had a good experience at ORD.
I will pay extra to fly nonstop. I also have routed thru PHX and DFW without issue many times.
Agree generally on smaller airports but only due to being stuck all day in Hayden, CO. But it was clear and beautiful there, and the planes were patiently waiting. The problem wasn’t with taking off, it was with landing. The planes literally had nowhere to go, and the reason was because of a massive back up at ORD.
When we got to ORD, well behind schedule and hours after our connections to PHL, Mrs. Deplume, a seasoned frequent flyer, managed to get us on the last plane into Reagan when everyone else was working their cellphones and bedding down in the terminals in Chicago.
I hear you, damned either way.
Only places I’ve flown to or though and never had a problem – Charlotte (US Airways) and Las Vegas. I fly through Charlotte quite a bit, I walk in and out of that place at least 20 times a year. The biggest complaint I have is the distance between terminals. In Vegas, never gotten stuck, despite the weather and backups anywhere else. There are so many alternative routes back from Vegas that the options are near limitless. I’ve flown back through Texas, through San Fran, through Philly even on one occasion. Huge number of rebook options.
You know what, always had good luck with PHX too. Another notable mention, London Heathrow international terminal, it’s classier than Short Hills mall, I couldn’t believe it was the airport.
Thank you, I appreciate it. Don’t get much love here, but I appreciate the little bones you throw me here and there. Not easy being the guy that nobody likes, but someone has to do it.
Comrade Nom Deplume, sea level again says:
January 8, 2015 at 8:04 am
[6] clot
I know you can’t stand the guy but if I were assembling a team to sit with me at counsel’s table, Passionfruit, erratic as he may be, is the only one of the three I would even consider hiring.
And if I were passionfruit, I would be absolutely indignant at being lumped in the same strata as anon and Fabian.
re #27 – ” one of the three I would even consider hiring.” That really is a dilemma, however there is another choice you could shoot all three.
All Boston schools are closed today due to cold. Who could have foreseen cold temps in New England during the Winter? The real story is the bus drivers will call in sick en masse and then the whole school transportation system goes to hell. Any hint of snow they cancel for the same reason. We’ve had bus drivers tell my wife, “If it snows tonight I won’t be here tomorrow.”
I understand a certain Bergen County school high school is closed today because it’s too cold. Ah, yes… the sweet, pudgy, precious millenials. I guess they checked their privilege. :o
The PassionPump knows what he wants and is willing to keep his eyes closed as long as possible waiting for it to appear.
Quebec city airport ERRRR I hate that place, but the 2 airporst I hate the most are Reagan and Logan. Becasue my delays are always almost longer than it would have taken me to drive home
This post made me diarrhea my pants a little…….
Liquor Luge says:
January 8, 2015 at 7:45 am
Loves gluteus’ response to grim’s “stop spending my money” yesterday: the kind of answer you’d get if you did a coat hanger lobotomy on Krugman and then made the same statement to him.
clot: your man-lover Flay’s tapped your Bo Derek….
http://pagesix.com/2015/01/07/giada-i-never-cheated-with-matt-lauer-or-bobby-flay/?_ga=1.166595198.1364055461.1410925202
That was Iceland all over. Not just houses, car loans too. People were blowing up their Range Rovers all over Iceland in 2008 so they could collect the insurance in Euros because they sure couldn’t afford the payments in Krona anymore .
This is what I call creative financing, taking out a mortgage in a foreign currency.
JJ: here you go…..no backstop though…..levels are truth….
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-08/oil-plunge-leaves-27-billion-of-energy-bonds-junk-priced.html
ExPat,
In the NJ/NY area, I never heard of such a thing as it’s too cold to go to school. All through elementary and high school, never once was school cancelled because of cold. Snow, yes. Cold, no. Sure, once in a while you would hear of a heating problem in a school forcing a closure but otherwise, get to school!!
re # 35 – I did point out the pink slips in the fracking business yesterday. Supposedly the drillers need to drill at least 6,000 new wells a year just to keep production at current levels.
Looks like NJ still has some catching up to do.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/01/08/india-sacking-idINKBN0KH0TW20150108
#36
Many Warren County NJ schools opened 90 mins. late today because of cold.
I remember back in highschool walking the mile to my bus stop in below zero temps. with light snow falling.
Everyone is such a wussie today.
Grim, Nom:
The only seat on any flight worth having is the left window seat looking forward. God I miss it.
North Jersey Republicans seize the day…
http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2015/01/mercedes_departure_renews_calls_for_tax_cuts.html#incart_river
re # 39 -If the future the same one where we don’t need Lawyers we won’t need teachers either, everything will be virtual online taught by AI from home, no need for snow days there well be no buses and schools to go to.
Smart, imo. If was in their position, I would do the same thing. Not risking my job by driving a bunch of kids on a bus in the snow. Too much risk for me. The minute they crash, even a minor crash, they are done. You know how hard it is to find jobs with that skill level.
The Original NJ ExPat – Bow Down to the King says:
January 8, 2015 at 9:23 am
All Boston schools are closed today due to cold. Who could have foreseen cold temps in New England during the Winter? The real story is the bus drivers will call in sick en masse and then the whole school transportation system goes to hell. Any hint of snow they cancel for the same reason. We’ve had bus drivers tell my wife, “If it snows tonight I won’t be here tomorrow.”
The Mercedes-Benz U.S. President and CEO, Stephen Cannon, told The Record (http://bit.ly/1BzZyLV ) that it was not just tax incentives that lured the company away.
“Incentives, when you look at the whole picture, it’s just a small piece,” he said. “We’re making a 50-year decision, and a pile of incentives in Year One, Two or Three over a 50-year decision doesn’t make a gigantic impact.”
I call it progress. Your ancestors used to live in caves, are you a wuss for living in a climate controlled home?
It’s 2015, why do you have to send your child walking through this cold if you don’t have to. We are the species on top of the chain, why put yourself through hell for no reason. Kids will make the day up, no need to send them to school in below zero temps when they are not used to it. This is not normal for our area. Besides last year, I don’t remember the last time it was this cold.
NJT says:
January 8, 2015 at 9:47 am
#36
Many Warren County NJ schools opened 90 mins. late today because of cold.
I remember back in highschool walking the mile to my bus stop in below zero temps. with light snow falling.
Everyone is such a wussie today.
You believe that crap. They are intending to stay in atl for 50 years? Yea, sure. You also believe the ceo when he says that tax incentives didn’t lure the company away? Come on now, this is a joke. Don’t ever believe what these guys say. Of course, it’s tax incentives. They are not going to come out and say it, that will result in the public getting pissed about the corporations playing state govts into not paying full taxes. Just like the Euro union shouldn’t compete against each other, states shouldn’t either. It’s a losing game. Amazing that companies can get away with black mailing local and state govts. Play hardball, tell them they are no longer allowed to conduct business here if they attempt to hold a community hostage to get a business advantage.
Toxic Crayons says:
January 8, 2015 at 10:04 am
The Mercedes-Benz U.S. President and CEO, Stephen Cannon, told The Record (http://bit.ly/1BzZyLV ) that it was not just tax incentives that lured the company away.
“Incentives, when you look at the whole picture, it’s just a small piece,” he said. “We’re making a 50-year decision, and a pile of incentives in Year One, Two or Three over a 50-year decision doesn’t make a gigantic impact.”
46 – It’s also an unpredictable Democratically controlled legislature……one that’s openly hostile to business and the wealthy.
Several (many) schools are now doing away with “snow days”. They are allocating perhaps 2 but all other days will be work/study at home days using the internet and pre planned lessons. This reduces impact on curriculum schedules as well as everyone’s vacation schedule as previously planned vacation days (Spring,Memorial Day, etc) do not have to be cancelled.
re: # 46 – Plumpkin – ” Of course, it’s tax incentives.” <—- WRONG AGAIN. They are leaving because they can gut their expensive New Jersey based employees, they plan on cutting operations cost north of 20 percent. They will not be offering relocation to most of those employees affected. Even more telling just like Hertz Corp they did not even apply for NJ Tax incentives.
"The New Jersey Economic Development Authority, which runs the state's business tax incentive programs, said Mercedes has not applied for help. Generally, companies in the state have to show they're considering moving to be eligible for incentives to stay."
MB plants are in the south and non union. makes more sense for Corporate offices to be more geographically, and more importantly, more financially/culturally aligned. Why have your assembly line workers who make your product thinking about how some Admin Asst in NJ gets $100,000.
MB Discussion
From my vantage point, “Nearshoring” (moving from the NY/NJ/CT area) to another state only works if you get a number of significant workers to transfer down. And the best transplants are the those that have a family, the singles enjoy all of the attention of having a Northern accent but wears off after awhile.
Going South I haven’t seen the same work ethic that’s here and you end up hiring more people cutting into the overall savings.
Corelogic Q3 home equity report out, NJ negative equity down to 11.6%. NJ is not in the top 5:
Nevada had the highest percentage of mortgaged properties in negative equity at 25.4 percent, followed by Florida (23.8 percent), Arizona (19 percent), Rhode Island (14.8 percent) and Illinois (14.1 percent). These top five states together account for 33.1 percent of negative equity in the United States.
51 – From my perspective (which is back office, and not front office) – this never works because you would be asking your employees to take wage cuts that match the differentials in geography. If you moved workers down at their current wage rates, you would nearly eliminate the wage arbitrage benefits. More often than not the wage cuts are looked at as punitive, especially for positions that might be enjoying a wage premium based on geography (tech workers on the coasts, for example), which cuts into the number who will relo.
Non executive positions with families generally turn down these offers, even management positions, since they are generally not offered under a contractual basis (which means you can relocate and find yourself laid off in 3 months). In addition, those with working spouses are put in a position where the spouse becomes unemployed in the relocation, increasing the financial risk of moving.
In my experience, young whippersnappers with no family are generally those who are most excited about these offers, especially if they include the prospect of moving to another country. Also common is laying off and rehiring as a temporary contract worker who will work in the new location for some specified amount of time, training the new staff. Usually this comes with a bit of a wage premium, as well as covering all travel and expenses. These kinds of offers are almost always accepted, and generally provide for the easiest transitions of work.
53 – Devil’s advocate…if you were a Mercedes Employee today….what would you do?
Is it better for them to organize and walk out today? At least if they do that….they could stick their thumb in management’s eye on their way out. Maybe it’s better to be unemployed in NJ today and start looking for a job than be slowly rotated out of the company after you relocate on your own dime right?
[53] Grim
Yea I heard some back office guys were taking 30-40% pay cuts but a few key people were able to keep their current salary.
#53..the people they want to keep they will pay-as much as necessary. I have several friends impacted by Met Life moving to NC. They all were to keep their salaries in the move , but virtually none will move. Working spouses, family, kids in school, long term security (getting laid off a year later in NC-as you previously noted). This is an opportunity to start “anew”.
I have another client moving from NJ to Charlotte. They are building staff now in NC….as the move will take 18 months. The 2 top Execs will move..so I theorize they will build staff in Charlotte as staff in NJ attrites…
What was this he thinking? You not only have to worry about North Korea but some dumb kid?
————————–
Puzzle Forms in Morgan Stanley Data Breach
Last summer, a newly minted Morgan Stanley financial adviser named Galen Marsh started to sift through the account records of some 350,000 of the firm’s clients. Virtually none of them were his own.
By December, some of that account information appeared on a text-sharing website, with the offer to trade it for an obscure virtual currency. Shortly after Morgan Stanley discovered the posting, it fired the 30-year-old Mr. Marsh and triggered a Federal Bureau of Investigation probe into how the records ended up online.
In what some security experts are saying is likely the biggest data theft at a wealth-management firm, some facts aren’t in dispute: Mr. Marsh’s lawyer has said that his client downloaded the account information and that he was subsequently fired by Morgan Stanley.
But a mystery remains about whether Mr. Marsh posted the information online and, if so, why he would risk his career.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/puzzle-forms-in-morgan-stanley-data-breach-1420590326?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection
Generally it’s the people making the decision to relocate that will get the sweetheart relo packages and keep their salary… The liberal crew will have a field day with this one.
NJ Republicans should not only be calling for tax breaks…but they should be calling for NJ to be a right to work state.
Unions and Democrats will shout them down but….they need to come out and say it.
re # 56 – “the people they want to keep”
Yup, relocation of the entire office is the best way to cull the herd. Most companies suck at firing the under-performers and these days you really cannot give someone a bad review without the chance of a lawsuit.
It’s a serious question. Between outsourcing and jobs moving to other States, who is going to buy these 4/2.5 houses in the leafy ‘burbs? Are you really going to say NYC is exempt and will supply the buyers? I’m talking about towns ranging from Basking Ridge all the way up to Rockleigh.
It’s a tough spot to be in with or without a family….keep your job and move with company at whatever salary or find a new job in the area.
Here’s a buyer of a nice home in burbs. Learn a skill that can’t be outsourced or moved to another state.
——————
The $140,000-a-Year Welding Job
HOUSTON— Justin Friend ’s parents have doctoral degrees and have worked as university lecturers and researchers. So Mr. Friend might have been expected to head for a university after graduating from high school in Bryan, Texas, five years ago.
Instead, he attended Texas State Technical College in Waco, and received a two-year degree in welding. In 2013, his first full year as a welder, his income was about $130,000, more than triple the average annual wages for welders in the U.S. In 2014, Mr. Friend’s income rose to about $140,000.
That has allowed the 24-year-old to buy a $53,000 Ford F-250 pickup truck, invest in mutual funds and dabble in his hobbies, such as making jet engines, including one he attached to a golf cart.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-140-000-a-year-welding-job-1420659586
Okay, then let them march towards the cheaper labor. Let enough companies march there and in 10 years their labor costs will rise to nj levels. Keep chasing that cheap labor.
Juice Box says:
January 8, 2015 at 10:31 am
re: # 46 – Plumpkin – ” Of course, it’s tax incentives.” <—- WRONG AGAIN. They are leaving because they can gut their expensive New Jersey based employees, they plan on cutting operations cost north of 20 percent. They will not be offering relocation to most of those employees affected. Even more telling just like Hertz Corp they did not even apply for NJ Tax incentives.
"The New Jersey Economic Development Authority, which runs the state's business tax incentive programs, said Mercedes has not applied for help. Generally, companies in the state have to show they're considering moving to be eligible for incentives to stay."
this is awesome!
Toxic Crayons says:
January 8, 2015 at 8:48 am
Grim…did you catch this:
http://www.torontosun.com/2015/01/05/price-is-right-contestants-think-iphone-6-worth-us7500
Gary: you should be thanking the Mercedes guys….seriously…you just got a shot in the arm for buying a Spring 2015 house up there…..
Fast Eddie says:
January 8, 2015 at 11:23 am
It’s a serious question. Between outsourcing and jobs moving to other States, who is going to buy these 4/2.5 houses in the leafy ‘burbs? Are you really going to say NYC is exempt and will supply the buyers? I’m talking about towns ranging from Basking Ridge all the way up to Rockleigh.
Comrade, cannot believe you’re letting Plumpkins slow-play you into putting more chips into his pot of stupidity.
ChFi [67],
That thought crossed my mind and I really don’t like dwelling in other’s misery unless they are… umm… nevermind. :) But seriously, you would think I could go shopping for a house this spring with a smile on my face and find one worthy of a 600K plus price tag. We will see.
It depends, my brother in-law is on temporary assignment for his company in the south, he is astounded at how much less they work in the office down there than up here in North Jersey. The expectation here is different and the type of people who live here are different. Depending on the needs of the business, it is easier and way more expensive to hire competent people in this area than other parts of the country. NYC metro is like a magnet for ambitious people, Cleveland or Atlanta doesn’t exactly draw in the people hungry for success.
And the market rallies on!
Ragnar [68],
I thought the same thing. The guy is a walking bullsh1t artist. He’s outwardly ridiculing the whole forum. It’s so obvious.
#70….Well, being in sales for 20 years…never underestimate the power of short term savings..as some of you remember..that “Exult” lift and shift model was never going to work in the long term, but plenty of folks bought into it for short term….
“The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.”
– President Barack Obama, September 15, 2012; Remarks by the President to the UN General Assembly
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/09/25/remarks-president-un-general-assembly
[72] “The guy is a walking bullsh1t artist. He’s outwardly ridiculing the whole forum. It’s so obvious.”
I agree. No one could be that dense. Though I take pride in assigning him the perfect handle, The Great Pumpkin must surely be a troll.
Exhibit A – this gem from the tail of yesterday’s thread:
[168] “Grim- can you unmod [Pumpkin’s prior 5,000 word post]. Great discussion should come from it.”
I suspect that The Great Pumpkin is the alter-ego of ReInvestor101. At least he is civil.
What’s with the assumption that if a relo’d worker gets canned outside NJ, they’d have trouble finding work? The job market is better in a lot of these destination cities. Dallas, for example.
[68] rags,
Never said I agreed with him or even liked his style. Just that if I were to have all three in a room and only two bullets, he’d survive as he is the least annoying, at least to me.
76 – I was thinking it would be better to collect unemployment and default on your mortgage in this state. Little chance of them throwing you out of your house in the next five years.
MB Relo -You would be surprised how many families will relo one spouse to the South while the other keeps a job here and raises the kids. With travel talking place every other Fri Sat Sun. This especially works once the kids are in HS. I’ve seen this with Research Triangle and NY/NJ pharma closure. One spouse will relo and rent and commute back to Jersey.
Happy Renter – (74) That’s a pretty good speech.
More global warming…er wait…
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30711789
The hunt for the two brothers in France is looking eerily like the hunt for the Tsarnaevs in the Boston area. They found the surviving brother in a boat behind the block where I once lived in Watertown, MA. Wouldn’t it be ironic if they killed one brother and captured the other.
Adjourd hui, nous sommes Charlie.
Watch what happens to $140k welders when oil is $50 for a few months. Poof.
The $140,000-a-Year Welding Job
Boehner may be doubtful but he isn’t slamming the door.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102321926
If the Senate includes a phased-in (3+ years) gas tax hike in the Keystone bill, I think the House doesn’t try to kill it. I still think it would be a great thing to put in front of the COOTUS.
SHE is civil….and living in Maryland…..
Happy Renter – militant but not violent, now with 25% more privilege! says:
January 8, 2015 at 12:21 pm
I suspect that The Great Pumpkin is the alter-ego of ReInvestor101. At least he is civil.
Taxpayer money funding mostly TV/Entertainment viewing for nonworking men aged 25-54.
“Watching television and movies is a significantly more common activity for the nonemployed than looking for work. For every one person whose main activity was job searching, there were almost six whose main activity was television and movie watching.”
Hard to believe the NY Times published this:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/01/06/upshot/how-nonemployed-americans-spend-their-weekdays-men-vs-women.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0
[76] Toshisung Horiba
What’s with the assumption that if a relo’d worker gets canned outside NJ, they’d have trouble finding work?
Before I moved, especially if you worked the past 5+ years in Big Pharma/Investment Banking/MB or some specialized industry in the back of my mind I would be interested in whether there are similar companies (same industry) in the area. Otherwise it may be challenging to find another job. You not only have to deal with repositioning yourself in finding a job that you can utilize your skills but now you probably will get local pay scale too.
Reporter: Your reaction to Senator Boxer’s retirement?
Pelosi: What?
http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/nancy-pelosi-has-the-best-reaction-to-news-of-barbara-boxer-s-retirement-20150108
What’s with the assumption that if a relo’d worker gets canned outside NJ, they’d have trouble finding work?
Generally I see companies going from areas where there is critical mass in a specific type of industry into an area that doesn’t have similar mass. But remember, my perspective is largely back-office, and the goal is labor arbitrage. You don’t move to an area where you’ll be competing for employees in a similar industry. Higher attrition very easily erodes any benefits of lower wages.
@Hardline_Stance Wanna know how cops in Paris arrived to #CharlieHebdo attack? Arrived in bicycles; came peddling up UNarmed. I kid you not..– Rush #ccw #2A
55FKA
With all the pay cuts for MB will the car cost any less than it does now? Doubt it.
Yea I heard some back office guys were taking 30-40% pay cuts
nwnj,
over 150 officers from over 18 agencies taking 61+ hours
All for a warrant for violation of Probation for a D.W.I.
http://www.ithacajournal.com/story/news/public-safety/2015/01/02/danby-hornbrook-road-standoff/21184927/
overtime baby!
Heard a funny story about an institution that relocated one of their in-house call centers into a new location in the US, cost savings play. They managed to move over a few critical folks, management, trainers, a few highly tenured reps, etc.
They worked like hell to hire something like 75 new reps, train them up, get them going.
They didn’t realize there was a big outsourcer up the road, who could pay a much better wage, having just won a big financial services contract. They managed to hire pretty much every rep, manager, and the training staff away. Trained and proficient from nearly day 1, at such little cost!
Company didn’t know what hit them, probably cost them more than a million dollars to rehire and retrain, as well as keep the legacy center open. They had to significant raise wages too, which cut into the ROI appreciably. They even managed to hire a few reps back at something like 2-3 bucks more an hour, which is HUGE.
If BMW is smart, they’ll be having a ball pulling key employees from Mercedes.
Banks Sell Record Structured Notes Tied to Oil, Gas Index
some of this crap issued in 2014 now trading at 51 cents on a dollar.
At 51 cents maybe worth roll of dice. At 100 cents on a dollar insanity
The Prudential Group department moved from Newark to Roseland in the early 1980’s..why? The key Execs lived in west Essex and Morris county and preferred that commute to going into Newark.
Previously worked for a company that moved their HQ, because it was the CEO’s hometown, and he wanted to show off to his old friends and family. Seriously.
Case in point…Goldman Sachs has set up their BO shop in Salt Lake City. And they are now in the process of moving more FO jobs there. You get canned there, where do you go?
Do they still have the “private membership” thing with the alcohol there?
[98] fka
“Do they still have the “private membership” thing with the alcohol there?”
No, they got rid of that a few years ago. Earlier in Park City area for the Olympics.
Booze is still expensive though, particularly beer. The 3.2 beer is bad enough but if you want decent beer, you have to go to a state store and it is ridiculous. When I am out west, I only buy wine. It isn’t marked up to hell nor is it watered down.
[80] It’s a terrible speech if you believe that the First Amendment is “first” for a very important reason.
No alcohol? Sounds like a bunch of religious extremists.
Good points. But I’m not sure it applies to IT workers getting relo’d to Raleigh or Dallas or Denver or to banking professionals getting relo’d to Charlotte or Atlanta.
But someplace like Buffalo or Wilmington? Yeah.
FKA yep they still do. I’m always a member when in SLC. then again we just closed up shop there and all the employees don’t know where to go
Renter. I didn’t read it that way at all.
Looking for a creative way to bring in potential buyers, build a roller coaster through your house to show it. Step right up, you can be the next bagholder of this lovely POS ranch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2QOtnLdnLQ
I want a jet propulsion golf cart.
SLC is hot bed for Benefits admin..ADP, Ceridian, Workday and related incubators….
EWR Terminal C has nothing but iPads and bartenders. No waitstaff.
In other news, TSA has managed to plumb yet a new depth in human like slime from which to hire. Vicious, yet lethargic and non-verbal is quite a jumble of job skills.
Every worker in this terminal looks like a Somali refugee with rabies.
LOL. I crashed a bus with WV HS kids on it in Packanack Lake during a snowstorm, either 1982 or 1983. It was early dismissal because of snow. I had a full bus of kids and I was supposed to go down Osborne Terrace, but there was already an accident and police at the bottom so I cut over one block to Hemlock terrace which ran parallel to Osborne. Full size school busses are pretty good in the snow because of their weight, they have to be about 20,000 pounds empty. I know the bumpers used to weigh 400 pounds each. Anyway, Hemlock wasn’t plowed and it was apparently iced up underneath. I realized quickly I wasn’t going to be able to stop when I got down to the lake. There was a house at the bottom with a split-rail fence at the curb and there was a drive leading to a dock to the left of the house. I had just a second or two to decide whether to take out the split-rail fence and hopefully stop before the picture window in the living room or risk the longer run-off down the drive but maybe end up in the lake. I chose to take out the fence and I stopped right up against the house without damaging it, flattening the big green shrubs between my grill and the house. I ended up looking right into the living room and there were people home thinking WTF? I think I made the right decision as hitting the curb popped one of the kingpins in the suspension which shortened my stopping distance. If this link works, this is the choice I had. The window wasn’t a bay window back then, it was flat. The fence is gone (maybe never rebuilt?) and that tree between the house and the driveway was either not there or not anything threatening 30 years ago. 17 Lake Trail was the house:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.9343796,-74.2513164,3a,75y,288.4h,75.42t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sADXpdym6w37jczMX1sShMA!2e0!6m1!1e1
Smart, imo. If was in their position, I would do the same thing. Not risking my job by driving a bunch of kids on a bus in the snow.
…but I can get a Westmalle Tripel and $27 sandwich if I take 20 steps in any direction.
Is this the definition of a degenerate society?
^^^ Rather, 17 Lake Drive East in Wayne was the house. Check it out in streetview on google maps if the link didn’t work.
#108
Applied for a job with the TSA back in 2001 when they were just forming.
Had to fill out more forms than at a closing (if mortgage involved) then take a computer based test. Was given three hours to finish, took me less than thirty minutes.
Raised my hand to say I’m done and two FBI agents took me into a room. Said I was overqualified and would get bored with the job (supervisory position – paid WELL) quickly. Yup, rejected!
A few weeks later I’m boarding a flight at EWR and saw who they hired…
[113] ” two FBI agents took me into a room. Said I was overqualified and would get bored with the job (supervisory position – paid WELL) quickly. Yup, rejected!
A few weeks later I’m boarding a flight at EWR and saw who they hired…”
Glad to see our best people are working hard to keep us safe. After all, our safety is their #1 priority, right? Right?
I think that is why they went to the ipads. The people in the airports don’t really seem employable, it seems like they don’t want to be there in a way I’ve almost never seen in other businesses. What bothers me about the airport is that they have changed all of the concessions to things I don’t recognize. As bad as it was before I’d take McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts over the $10 bagel and coffee I can get now at the cibo(what ever that is). Also somehow they had the ipad ording last time I was there and still had to talk to the employees more than i’d like.
Re: Barbara Boxer Retirement:
Charles C. Johnson
@ChuckCJohnson
Asian-American voters are the fastest growing segment in CA but least likely to be registered to vote. Register them, GOP. #BarbaraBoxer
OTG management is behind the Airport iPads.
“Outside of Apple’s retail stores, OTG has the largest deployment of iPads in the world.”
Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/ipads-are-replacing-waiters-in-airport-restaurants/#ixzz3OGRZDqm9
Follow us: @digitaltrends on Twitter | digitaltrendsftw on Facebook
http://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/ipads-are-replacing-waiters-in-airport-restaurants/
[115] jcer,
Airport concessions are awarded, and in most areas, the process is quite familiar to NJ residents. Often, there are minority set asides, and all concessions are pay to play. Do the minority set asides bring in big bucks. In philly, many were owned by Mayor Street’s family members.
The jobs are filled with family members of friends, relatives and cronies. Sometimes the concessionaire is told to hire certain people. Also, they are required as a condition of the concession to hire a certain amount of nearby residents, minorities, and dropouts/GED holders.
You can guess what the result is.
Unarmed police woman murdered in Paris…..
A policewoman was shot in the head in a suburb of Paris on Thursday, in the second terrorist attack to strike the French capital in less than 24 hours.
French authorities spent much of yesterday involved in two massive manhunts – one for the killer of 27-year-old Clarissa Jean-Philippe, and the other for the Kouachi brothers, thought to be behind Wednesday’s terrorist attack that killed 12.
On Thursday night they announced that two men had been arrested in connection with Miss Jean-Philippe’s killing, after a search lasting over eight hours – one described as a 52-year-old, and the other’s age unknown.
“Two men have been detained, but we can’t at this stage confirm whether it is the author of the shooting,” a police source told Le Parisien.
Miss Jean-Philippe had only been in the job for 15 days when she was murdered.
“The municipal policewoman cut down this morning was a credit to the nation,” said Manuel Valls, the French prime minister.
The recently-graduated policewoman, who was born in the French overseas territory of Martinique, was on patrol on the wide, leafy Avenue Pierre Brossolette at 8am yesterday morning. She was called to a car crash involving two cars – one of them a Renault Clio, like that which the Kouachi brothers had escaped in the previous night. But when she arrived at the scene she was shot, and died almost immediately on the pavement.
It is understood the policewoman’s mother heard the news of her daughter’s killing on her radio in her native Martinique.
Miss Jean-Philippe was described by colleagues as “lively and dynamic”
[119] I expect France’s surrender is imminent.
Bottom line!!
jcer says:
January 8, 2015 at 12:11 pm
It depends, my brother in-law is on temporary assignment for his company in the south, he is astounded at how much less they work in the office down there than up here in North Jersey. The expectation here is different and the type of people who live here are different. Depending on the needs of the business, it is easier and way more expensive to hire competent people in this area than other parts of the country. NYC metro is like a magnet for ambitious people, Cleveland or Atlanta doesn’t exactly draw in the people hungry for success.
Keep thinking that cutting and privatizing everything will solve society’s problems. That’s the definition of stupidity. We tried that, didn’t work. Now open your mind and try something new.
Ragnar says:
January 8, 2015 at 12:09 pm
Comrade, cannot believe you’re letting Plumpkins slow-play you into putting more chips into his pot of stupidity.
Bingo!!! Lower the costs, but price goes up. There goes all the gains to the top of the economy where it will rot. How long can this keep up before the economy grinds to a halt. Greed is destructive, wish our ruling elite understood this. Relocations are destroying the economy, it’s wage arbitrage. Pretty smart, biting the hand that feeds you. Must be a balance in wage and profit. Sway either too much to one side and it is severely damaging to the economy. Why is this so hard to understand. Can’t cut it all.
phoenix says:
January 8, 2015 at 1:46 pm
55FKA
With all the pay cuts for MB will the car cost any less than it does now? Doubt it.
Yea I heard some back office guys were taking 30-40% pay cuts
Too bad no one took to the discussion. Those were some really good reads. Really was looking foward to discussing it.
Happy Renter – militant but not violent, now with 25% more privilege! says:
January 8, 2015 at 12:21 pm
[72] “The guy is a walking bullsh1t artist. He’s outwardly ridiculing the whole forum. It’s so obvious.”
I agree. No one could be that dense. Though I take pride in assigning him the perfect handle, The Great Pumpkin must surely be a troll.
Exhibit A – this gem from the tail of yesterday’s thread:
[168] “Grim- can you unmod [Pumpkin’s prior 5,000 word post]. Great discussion should come from it.”
I suspect that The Great Pumpkin is the alter-ego of ReInvestor101. At least he is civil.
Keep thinking that cutting and privatizing everything will solve society’s problems. That’s the definition of stupidity. We tried that, didn’t work. Now open your mind and try something new.
Because the history of the USSR and Soviet-controlled Europe show that their way is clearly the right one. Thank god Kim Jung Un has kept the torch lit, they are the shining star of Asia.
Lmao…great story!!! Awesome share!!!
The Original NJ ExPat – Bow Down to the King says:
January 8, 2015 at 2:48 pm
LOL. I crashed a bus with WV HS kids on it in Packanack Lake during a snowstorm, either 1982 or 1983. It was early dismissal because of snow. I had a full bus of kids and I was supposed to go down Osborne Terrace, but there was already an accident and police at the bottom so I cut over one block to Hemlock terrace which ran parallel to Osborne. Full size school busses are pretty good in the snow because of their weight, they have to be about 20,000 pounds empty. I know the bumpers used to weigh 400 pounds each. Anyway, Hemlock wasn’t plowed and it was apparently iced up underneath. I realized quickly I wasn’t going to be able to stop when I got down to the lake. There was a house at the bottom with a split-rail fence at the curb and there was a drive leading to a dock to the left of the house. I had just a second or two to decide whether to take out the split-rail fence and hopefully stop before the picture window in the living room or risk the longer run-off down the drive but maybe end up in the lake. I chose to take out the fence and I stopped right up against the house without damaging it, flattening the big green shrubs between my grill and the house. I ended up looking right into the living room and there were people home thinking WTF? I think I made the right decision as hitting the curb popped one of the kingpins in the suspension which shortened my stopping distance. If this link works, this is the choice I had. The window wasn’t a bay window back then, it was flat. The fence is gone (maybe never rebuilt?) and that tree between the house and the driveway was either not there or not anything threatening 30 years ago. 17 Lake Trail was the house:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.9343796,-74.2513164,3a,75y,288.4h,75.42t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sADXpdym6w37jczMX1sShMA!2e0!6m1!1e1
Smart, imo. If was in their position, I would do the same thing. Not risking my job by driving a bunch of kids on a bus in the snow.
I would put forth the conjecture that the fanatical rabid unquestionable belief in their “ideology”, not the “ideology” itself that doomed them.
The fanatical rabid unquestionable belief made them blind to even consider very needed course correction.
I further say that we as a country are falling for this same fanatical rabid unquestionable belief driven loop in the “ideology” of the day. Those being “free market in name only” but crony capitalism using names like neo-liberal economics, along with its foreign policy, empire building aka “neo-cons” ideology.
These terrorists suck. Why do you have to kill people who could care less about your stupid cause? Go pray or something.
Toxic Crayons says:
January 8, 2015 at 3:49 pm
Unarmed police woman murdered in Paris…..
Body cam gun battle
http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nbc-news-channel/officers-body-camera-captures-gun-battle-381055043800
Both are extreme. I don’t want anything to do with either. I’m for capitalism, but if you think I’m for an unregulated capitalist market, you are crazy. You might not like regulations, but they are there for a reason. There’s a balance. I’m not advocating for over regulation, but I sure want some regulation. It’s bad enough what they do with food in a regulated market, what the happens in an unregulated market?
grim says:
January 8, 2015 at 4:51 pm
Keep thinking that cutting and privatizing everything will solve society’s problems. That’s the definition of stupidity. We tried that, didn’t work. Now open your mind and try something new.
Because the history of the USSR and Soviet-controlled Europe show that their way is clearly the right one. Thank god Kim Jung Un has kept the torch lit, they are the shining star of Asia.
If you like airplane stunts…
Watch Airbus Risk $1.5 Billion in a Wild Airplane Stunt
http://cameras.reviewed.com/news/watch-airbus-risk-15-billion-in-a-wild-airplane-stunt?utm_source=TB_paid&utm_medium=cpc
I would probably sh%$ my pants if I saw this formation with those planes
Several (many) schools are now doing away with “snow days”. They are allocating perhaps 2 but all other days will be work/study at home days using the internet and pre planned lessons. This reduces impact on curriculum schedules as well as everyone’s vacation schedule as previously planned vacation days (Spring,Memorial Day, etc) do not have to be cancelled.
That’s great for scheduling but the idea that it does not impact the curriculum is far fetched.
…well you know why they are doing it….
[134] “…well you know why they are doing it….”
For the children . . .
Holy crap, the lunatic that bought Revel to make it a community of geniuses now says its going to be a massive water park and ferry launch to NYC?!?
I really hope someone checked this nut’s credit. Are we sure this was the best offer? Is this guy mentally well?
That would be one long ferry ride from NYC.
Re: “Slackers” down south and…
Early 90s, my then employer was relocating CHQ to VA. Couldn’t get out of the building lease in NJ and couldn’t find tenants for all the floors, moving some equipment was going to be expensive so, for the time being, kept my staff and I, there.
About a year after the move I went down for a couple weeks to learn a new network we were purchasing. Wasn’t in training all the time and my admin. had things under control back up in NJ so I got involved in other projects during down time.
WOW! The people were slugs! They did EVERYTHING slow (including talking, eating and walking) and every dept. was overstaffed compared to NJ (of course the pay was half). Yeah, been down south before (vacation and military) but never working in an office.
End of first week CEO offers me a very generous Relo. package.
Was a DINK (Dual Income No Kids) couple back then, liked were we lived and hated where HQ now was (Tidewater VA…YUCK). Figured they’d use me to whip stuff and staff into shape then let me go in a couple years, or less. Also realized that my career there was now over (especially after refusing the offer) and as soon as our space was rented or the lease expired (two years) I would be gone.
Took my time finding another gig and got one, with months to spare.
Company is long gone. Execs. made out well, the others…
I agree with Grim…NEVER relocate for a job (unless you have some incredible deal like options or a golden parachute ect. and ALL OF IT IS IN WRITING).
Worked a bit in Research Triangle Park in NC too, in the early 2000s. Same deal (as far as the people and environment not Corp.). Do love a Southern breakfast though (hey, I grew up on a farm). The rest of the food was garbage.
#43 (GP)
“I call it progress. Your ancestors used to live in caves, are you a wuss for living in a climate controlled home?
It’s 2015, why do you have to send your child walking through this cold if you don’t have to. We are the species on top of the chain, why put yourself through hell for no reason. Kids will make the day up, no need to send them to school in below zero temps when they are not used to it. This is not normal for our area. Besides last year, I don’t remember the last time it was this cold.”.
It’s called building character (not talking about BEING a character, that’s different).
How do you know my ancestors lived in caves?. Are you making a raciss comment? :).
Prevailing against adversity (and sometimes this thing they call ‘diversity’) is a valuable trait to learn.
I imagine you don’t hunt, fish and never had to take care of livestock, either.
Nothing wrong with living the cushy life but you better have some balls when the SHTF because it usually does, eventually.
Funny thing you made me remember:
I was 12 or 13 and staying over a friends house for the night. His father was a Norwegian from the other side. Guy was so cheap he only owned two sets of clothes!
I went to take a shower and the water was cold (like liquid ice). I asked what was wrong with the hot water heater. His dad said: “Be a Viking, they didn’t have hot water”. I said: “Mr. H that was a 1000 years ago…”. I was outta that stall in less than a minute.
Or will the geniuses live at the water park?
For the children . . .
Don’t be so cynical. The reality is, your kids will hate it if they have to stay two extra days in June. And half of the time, the primary complaints come from the parents who planned a vacation during spring break or the first day of summer break. It’s a no win situation. You have to make up the days by law. The idea that you can stop the snow day from being a loss is completely naive. The kids check out mentally in early June.
I could care less if you make me go to work another week or two to teach. The reality is that I usually spend a week there anyway arranging the room, organizing my lab equipment, organizing my files, and throwing things out.
[131] fka
Damn that was some flying. They flew those like B-17s from WWII. Only 10 days prep?
#141
“your kids will hate it if they have to stay two extra days in June.”
Poor babies. Makes me want to…laugh.
139- Fair enough.
Lol…your friends dad is sick. You said it best in your response stating that was a 1000 years ago…lol. Know quite a few people obssessed with being cheap and I’m convinced it’s cruel disease that keeps people from living happy lives. They can’t even make a purchase without feeling guilty. Totally feel bad for them.
Best bus story ever – bet the kids on that bus still tell the story
And the airBUS gig wasn’t half bad either, nice filming, and flying.
Porn for clot.
I fall under the optimist club. Now I know why I’m hated. I’ll be honest, it’s not always easy to maintain the optimism, but you just have to trust that life will find a way.
“The perfect storm for ending the age of consumerism. Not only are the boomers aging and dying off globally, but the planet is dying. The confection that has become our human economy can’t do much about it. In order to keep a minimum economy functioning to the max to provide things we all need, we have central banks and treasuries tweaking everything. It is simply mindboggling to hear people optimistically predict when interest rates will rise. It’s a lost cause. Like the defeated southern confederates. Who consciously maintained an impossible hope when they bravely told each other, The South will rise again!”
Porn for clot
“The perfect storm for ending the age of consumerism. Not only are the boomers aging and dying off globally, but the planet is dying. The confection that has become our human economy can’t do much about it. In order to keep a minimum economy functioning to the max to provide things we all need, we have central banks and treasuries tweaking everything. It is simply mindboggling to hear people optimistically predict when interest rates will rise. It’s a lost cause. Like the defeated southern confederates. Who consciously maintained an impossible hope when they bravely told each other, The South will rise again!”
It won’t let me copy and paste, but scroll towards the bottom. Porn for clot.
http://captaincapitalism.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-economics-of-robots-replacing-human.html
“Also the need for human labor has been eliminated to a high degree replaced with equally useless makework. Its already happened
In the past everyone had work to do now children under 18 don’t work, half of all young people in some countries don’t work, many people are no longer expected to work and live off state pensions and many more do useless make work jobs so that women can consume more instead of being home makers
Heck even the 40 hour work week is an admission there really isn’t much to do
As for depression, is caused by modern atomization not lack of work. Hunter Gathers work maybe 4 hours most days and generally don’t suffer from as much depression as modern people.
Why people are sick is simple, they aren’t encouraged to faith, nationality and kinship but are treated as atomized consumer units who only matter for next quarters profits.
This is because of a combination of greed (less sharing, more consuming) and fear (kinship is powerful and the multi-cult hates it) That anti human pressure is what causes the mental illness.
It as Charlie Stross put it “the world is occupied by aliens in the form transnational corporations
http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/12/invaders-from-mars.html
His words
Corporations do not share our priorities. They are hive organisms constructed out of teeming workers who join or leave the collective: those who participate within it subordinate their goals to that of the collective, which pursues the three corporate objectives of growth, profitability, and pain avoidance. (The sources of pain a corporate organism seeks to avoid are lawsuits, prosecution, and a drop in shareholder value.)
Corporations have a mean life expectancy of around 30 years, but are potentially immortal; they live only in the present, having little regard for past or (thanks to short term accounting regulations) the deep future: and they generally exhibit a sociopathic lack of empathy.
The multi-cult is another invasive species as well
There is no guarantee that state distribution will enable well being, a lot of people won’t use it wisely but it’s the only route to preserving modernity in any form otherwise demand drought or wage arbitrage will tank all of it.
With good teaching and a little luck though, some people can take htos eresources, get off the grid and start to live. Thats all that really matters anyway.”
Oil Bust Will Hurt Housing in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana
WASHINGTON — Jan 9, 2015, 1:44 AM ET
By JOSH BOAK AP Economics Writer
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oil-bust-hurt-housing-texas-oklahoma-louisiana-28104245
The oil boom that lifted home prices in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana is coming to an end.
Crude oil prices have crashed since June, falling by more than 54 percent to less than $50 a barrel. That swift drop has started to cripple job growth in oil country, creating a slow wave that in the years ahead may devastate what has been a thriving real estate market, according to new analysis by the real estate firm Trulia.
“Oil prices won’t tank home prices immediately,” Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko explained. “Rather, falling oil prices in the second half of 2014 might not have their biggest impact on home prices until late 2015 or in 2016.”
History shows it takes time for home prices in oil country to change course.
Kolko looked at the 100 largest housing markets where the oil industry accounted for at least 2 percent of all jobs. Asking prices in those cities rose 10.5 percent over the past year, compared with an average of 7.7 percent around the country.
Prices climbed 13.4 percent in Houston, where 5.6 percent of all jobs are in oil-related industries. The city is headquarters to energy heavyweights such as Phillips 66, Halliburton and Marathon Oil. Asking prices surged 10.2 percent in Fort Worth, Texas, and 10.1 percent in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In some smaller markets, oil is overwhelmingly dominant ? responsible for more than 30 percent of the jobs in Midland, Texas, for instance.
The closest parallel to the Texas housing market might have occurred in the mid-1980s, when CBS was airing the prime-time soap opera “Dallas” about a family of oil tycoons.
In the first half of 1986, oil prices plunged more than 50 percent, to about $12 a barrel, according to a report by the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank.
Job losses mounted in late 1986 around Houston. The loss of salaries eventually caused home prices to fall in the second half of 1987.
That led Kolko to conclude that since 1980, it takes roughly two years for changes in oil prices to hit home prices.
Of course, there is positive news for people living outside oil country, Kolko notes.
Falling oil prices lead to cheaper gasoline costs that reduce family expenses, freeing up more cash to spend.
“In the Northeast and Midwest especially, home prices tend to rise after oil prices fall,” he writes in the analysis.
interesting
The Great Pumpkin says:
January 8, 2015 at 11:16 pm
“Also the need for human labor has been eliminated to a high degree replaced with equally useless makework. Its already happened
In the past everyone had work to do now children under 18 don’t work, half of all young people in some countries don’t work, many people are no longer expected to work and live off state pensions and many more do useless make work jobs so that women can consume more instead of being home makers
Heck even the 40 hour work week is an admission there really isn’t much to do
As for depression, is caused by modern atomization not lack of work. Hunter Gathers work maybe 4 hours most days and generally don’t suffer from as much depression as modern people.
Why people are sick is simple, they aren’t encouraged to faith, nationality and kinship but are treated as atomized consumer units who only matter for next quarters profits.
This is because of a combination of greed (less sharing, more consuming) and fear (kinship is powerful and the multi-cult hates it) That anti human pressure is what causes the mental illness.
It as Charlie Stross put it “the world is occupied by aliens in the form transnational corporations
http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/12/invaders-from-mars.html
His words
Corporations do not share our priorities. They are hive organisms constructed out of teeming workers who join or leave the collective: those who participate within it subordinate their goals to that of the collective, which pursues the three corporate objectives of growth, profitability, and pain avoidance. (The sources of pain a corporate organism seeks to avoid are lawsuits, prosecution, and a drop in shareholder value.)
Corporations have a mean life expectancy of around 30 years, but are potentially immortal; they live only in the present, having little regard for past or (thanks to short term accounting regulations) the deep future: and they generally exhibit a sociopathic lack of empathy.
The multi-cult is another invasive species as well
There is no guarantee that state distribution will enable well being, a lot of people won’t use it wisely but it’s the only route to preserving modernity in any form otherwise demand drought or wage arbitrage will tank all of it.
With good teaching and a little luck though, some people can take htos eresources, get off the grid and start to live. Thats all that really matters anyway.”
@JamesBSherk: If you think community college is affordable now, wait until you see how much it costs when the government gives it away for free.
U.S. adds 252,000 jobs in December, unemployment falls to 5.6%
@CNBCnow:
BREAKING:
US created 252,000 jobs in Dec vs. 240,000 est; unemployment rate at 5.6% vs. 5.7% est
Friday, Jan 9, 2015 03:45 AM EST
Obama proposes publicly funded community college for all
Nedra Pickler, Associated Press
http://www.salon.com/2015/01/09/obama_proposes_publicly_funded_community_college_for_all/
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama wants publicly funded community college available to all Americans, a sweeping proposal he argues would strengthen the U.S. workforce. The initiative’s price tag has yet to be revealed, and it faces a spending-averse Republican Congress.
The White House said Obama wants to make higher education as free and universal as high school by covering enough tuition to get students who keep their grades up an associate’s degree or halfway to a bachelor’s.
“Put simply, what I’d like to do is to see the first two years of community college free for everybody who is willing to work for it,” Obama said a video posted Thursday evening on Facebook. He spoke seated on the front of his desk from his office aboard Air Force One, in the midst of a three-day tour to preview the agenda he’ll be outlining Jan. 20 in the State of the Union address.
He planned to be joined Friday by Vice President Joe Biden at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee, to promote the college plan.
Administration officials on a conference call with reporters Thursday evening said the funding details would come out later with the president’s budget. They estimated 9 million students could participate and save an average of $3,800 in tuition per year. That suggests an annual cost in the tens of billions of dollars.
The White House said the federal government would pick up 75 percent of the cost and the final quarter would come from states that opt into the program.
The idea got a chilly response from House Speaker John Boehner’s office. “With no details or information on the cost, this seems more like a talking point than a plan,” said spokesman Cory Fritz.
The idea was reminiscent of Obama’s 2013 State of the Union proposal to provide universal preschool, which Congress did not take up because of cost issues. Obama policy adviser Cecilia Munoz pointed out that even without federal action, many states are taking up the idea and expanding preschool.
And she pointed out that a Republican — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam — last year signed into law a pioneering scholarship program that provides free community and technical college tuition for two years. Munoz said Obama’s proposal was inspired by the Tennessee plan and another similar program in Chicago.
Big Time Dead Cat Bounce today, GDP, SD, PBRA looks like short sellers covering or bottom fishers being rewarded.
Kocherlakota: Rate Hike Would ‘Retard’ Inflation Recovery
BY GARY SIEGEL
JAN 9, 2015 7:06am ET
The Federal Reserve should not raise its target interest rate this year, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Narayana Kocherlakota repeated Thursday night.
153 – Toxic
End to the Bachelors degree requirement for McDonald’s.
Start of the Master’s degree requirement for McDonald’s?
@Politics_Reddit:
the campaign to raise the minimum wage has been the rare success story for the left. Twenty states will see it
@Chantepoule: Not a single company was prosecuted last year for paying less than minimum wage in 2014. It is estimated that 492,000 were paid less than MW
Young Workers Hurt Most by Minimum Wage Hikes
Stephen Moore / @StephenMoore / Joel Griffith / @joelgriffith / January 06, 2015
http://dailysignal.com/2015/01/06/young-workers-hurt-minimum-wage-hikes/
On New Year’s Day, the minimum wage increased in 20 states and the District of Columbia. This follows a year in which protesters hit the streets in major cities, camping in front of fast food stores and demanding a hike in the minimum wage.
Last summer, Seattle raised its minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2018. In December, San Francisco followed suit, approving a $15 minimum wage by 2018. Likewise, Chicago just mandated a $13 hourly wage by 2019.
Meanwhile, President Obama storms around the country moaning that Scrooge-like congressional Republicans are refusing to give the American worker a raise.
Liberals say they have intellectual ammunition to support a minimum wage bump. For example, the Labor Department has a website section, “Minimum Wage Mythbusters,” which states: “A review of 64 studies on minimum wage increases found no discernible effect on employment.” The Labor Department also says that “raising the minimum wage would increase consumer purchasing power” and pump billions of dollars into the economy. This is an economic non-sequitur because every dollar paid to the worker is a dollar less that the small business keeps. So there is no net addition of dollars into the economy.
Fewer than one out of 20 hourly workers overall earned at or below the federal minimum wage in 2013.
Meanwhile, the liberal Center for American Progress has released a study indicating that “the majority of states that raised the minimum wage [in recent years] saw a decrease in their unemployment rate over the next year.
But we wouldn’t expect for a minimum wage hike to cause everyone’s unemployment rate to be affected.
Here’s why: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, fewer than one out of 20 hourly workers (4.3 percent) overall earned at or below the federal minimum wage in 2013. And because just under 59 percent of the workforce is paid hourly, the percentage of the workers actually earning the minimum wage is closer to 2.5 percent – or one in 40. It’s simply a myth that a huge number of heads of households work at the minimum-wage level.
But one group is heavily affected by the minimum wage, and that is young people. This is the cohort of workers whom we might expect to observe a change in job opportunities.
In 2013, nearly one in five teen workers (19.5 percent) paid by the hour earned at this level and a much higher percentage started at the minimum wage before they got a pay raise. In addition, although teens account for just 5.4 percent of the total workforce, they make up 24.2 percent of those earning at or below the minimum wage.
This is just common sense. Those entering the workforce for the first time, particularly with relatively lower levels of education, have much fewer skills on average. As such, employers are willing to pay only relatively lower “training” wages. If higher wages are mandated, employing less-skilled teens can become unprofitable.
We find that 16-19 year olds often get priced out of the market when the minimum wage rises in states. From 2009-13, eight states had a minimum wage averaging $8 or higher. In those states the teen labor force participation averaged 35.6 percent. Teenage unemployment averaged 27.2 percent. In the 31 states which did not exceed the federal level, the labor force participation rate was nearly 4 percentage points higher (39.5 percent), and the unemployment rate was nearly 6 percentage points lower (21.3 percent). These are big statistical differences.
A more complex analysis conducted at Heritage for 2009-2013 for all 50 states and the District of Columbia shows a small negative correlation between labor force participation and minimum wage (-0.14) for those age 16-19. There is a larger positive correlation between teen unemployment and minimum wage (0.36). Over a longer period (1999-2013), the correlations are nearly the same at -0.15 and +0.32, respectively. In short, higher minimum wages correspond with lower labor force participation and increased unemployment amongst teenagers.
Texas A&M University economists Jonathan Meer and Jeremy West published a paper in December 2013 through the National Bureau of Economic Research “indicating that job growth declines significantly in response to increases in the minimum wage…” Additionally, the economists found this decline in jobs growth to be “primarily driven by a reduction in job creation by expanding establishments, rather than by an increase in job destruction by contracting establishments.” The study by Meer and West concluded that “the effect on job growth is concentrated in lower-wage industries and among younger workers.”
During the last federally mandated series of minimum wage hikes from $5.15 to $7.25, teenage labor force participation plummeted from near 41 percent to a low of less than 33 percent as unemployment jumped from near 15 percent to a high of more than 27.4 percent. Yes, the primary cause was the Great Recession. But raising the minimum wage when the economy was contracting was a recipe for disaster for young workers whose wage fell to $0.00.
Sorry, there is no free lunch by hiking the minimum wage.
A version of this piece appeared in Forbes in 2014.
I don’t fear policy risks like the min. wage hikes. They create opportunities.
I’m waiting for Roomba to announce that it has commercial sweeper robots that can operate in airports and malls. Or Kiva to create a serving bot that will pick up meals at the kitchen and deliver them to the table where you just ordered your meal via iPad.
I should add debt collection to my legal quiver. After all those folks lose their jobs to technology or higher skilled unemployed, and after they spend money to earn useless 2 year degrees in anthropology, there is going to be a lot of demand for debt collection and personal bankruptcy.
In Chinese, danger and opportunity are represented by the same character.
to wit:
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/industrial-robots/avidbots-want-to-industrialize-robot-cleaning
In the future, I can see commercial space being designed to accommodate robots, both in building maintenance and in workflow.
and to wit:
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/industrial-robots/savione-saviokes-delivery-robot
But take heart, anon, there is one company that wants to help
http://spectrum.ieee.org/view-from-the-valley/robotics/industrial-robots/robotics-company-prepares-to-take-responsibility-for-displaced-workers
[159] toxic
I love reading Stephen Moore. Great guy as well. I used to live around the corner from him in McLean, VA.
http://dsnews.com/print-features/12-31-2014/forward-future-industry-leaders-speak-housing-2015
Forward to the Future
The year ahead is shaping up to be one of great change in housing with uncertainty lurking around every corner. Brian Montgomery, industry expert and veteran of both the Bush and Obama Administrations, gives his insight on what to expect.
• GSE Reform
• Homeownership Rates
• Homeownership Opportunities for Minorities
• Regulatory Environment
• Private Mortgage Insurers
• Federal Housing Administration
Poor babies. Makes me want to…laugh.
I haven’t run into many teachers that really cared that the school year got extended last year. What’s funny is your gut reaction is to think they do.
You have to be in it to win it baby. Well played sir!!!
———————
Exclusive: Ex-Goldman trader’s fund up 51 pct playing energy’s rise and fall
(Reuters) – A hedge fund run by former Goldman Sachs oil trader Jonathan Goldberg was among the biggest winners from violent energy market swings last year, piling on bullish bets during the fiercest winter in decades and then selling spot oil just before prices collapsed in the summer.
Goldberg’s New York-based BBL Commodities Value Fund, which he formed barely a year ago and manages $540 million, returned a net 51 percent to investors in 2014, according to a letter issued by the fund to its investors on Wednesday and seen by Reuters.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/07/us-oil-winner-idUSKBN0KG24R20150107
FKA [64];
Learn a skill that can’t be outsourced or moved to another state.
——————
The $140,000-a-Year Welding Job
The skill can’t be moved, but the job most certainly do. Unless one can get into a well-placed union in a major city (and even then), plying that trade requires frequent long relocations to where the work is.
Ben… NJT was referring to the students
Ben says:
January 9, 2015 at 10:21 am
Poor babies. Makes me want to…laugh.
I haven’t run into many teachers that really cared that the school year got extended last year. What’s funny is your gut reaction is to think they do.
On Minimum wage laws, from Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt
We have already seen some of the harmful results of arbitrary
governmental efforts to raise the price of favored commodities.
The same sort of harmful results follow efforts to raise wages
through minimum wage laws. This ought not to be surprising; for a
wage is, in fact, a price. It is unfortunate for clarity of economic thinking
that the price of labor’s services should have received an entirely
different name from other prices. This has prevented most people
from recognizing that the same principles govern both.
Thinking has become so emotional and so politically biased on the
subject of wages that in most discussions of them the plainest principles
are ignored. People who would be among the first to deny that
prosperity could be brought about by artificially boosting prices, people
who would be among the first to point out that minimum price
laws might be most harmful to the very industries they were designed
to help, will nevertheless advocate minimum wage laws, and denounce
opponents of them, without misgivings.
Yet it ought to be clear that a minimum wage law is, at best, a limited
weapon for combating the evil of low wages, and that the possible good
to be achieved by such a law can exceed the possible harm only in proportion
as its aims are modest. The more ambitious such a law is, the
larger the number of workers it attempts to cover, and the more it
attempts to raise their wages, the more likely are its harmful effects to
exceed its good effects.
The first thing that happens, for example, when a law is passed that
no one shall be paid less than $30 for a forty-hour week is that no one
who is not worth $30 a week to an employer will be employed at all.
You cannot make a man worth a given amount by making it illegal for
anyone to offer him anything less. You merely deprive him of the
right to earn the amount that his abilities and situation would permit
him to earn, while you deprive the community even of the moderate
services that he is capable of rendering. In brief, for a low wage you
substitute unemployment. You do harm all around, with no comparable
compensation.
The only exception to this occurs when a group of workers is
receiving a wage actually below its market worth. This is likely to happen
only in special circumstances or localities where competitive
forces do not operate freely or adequately; but nearly all these special
cases could be remedied just as effectively, more flexibly, and with far
less potential harm, by unionization.
It may be thought that if the law forces the payment of a higher
wage in a given industry, that industry can then charge higher prices
for its product, so that the burden of paying the higher wage is merely
shifted to consumers. Such shifts, however, are not easily made, nor
are the consequences of artificial wage raising so easily escaped. A
higher price for the product may not be possible: it may merely drive
consumers to some substitute. Or, if consumers continue to buy the
product of the industry in which wages have been raised, the higher
price will cause them to buy less of it. While some workers in the
industry will be benefited from the higher wage, therefore, others will
be thrown out of employment altogether. On the other hand, if the
price of the product is not raised, marginal producers in the industry
will be driven out of business; so that reduced production and consequent
unemployment will merely be brought about in another way.
When such consequences are pointed out, there is a group of people
who reply: “Very well; if it is true that the X industry cannot exist
except by paying starvation wages, then it will be just as well if the minimum
wage puts it out of existence altogether.” But this brave pronouncement
overlooks the realities. It overlooks, first of all, that consumers
will suffer the loss of that product. It forgets, in the second
place, that it is merely condemning the people who worked in that
industry to unemployment. And it ignores, finally, that bad as were the
wages paid in the X industry, they were the best among all the alternatives
that seemed open to the workers in that industry; otherwise the
workers would have gone into another. If, therefore, the X industry is
driven out of existence by a minimum wage law, then the workers previously
employed in that industry will be forced to turn to alternative
courses that seemed less attractive to them in the first place. Their
competition for jobs will drive down the pay offered even in these
alternative occupations. There is no escape from the conclusion that
the minimum wage will increase unemployment.
2
A nice problem, moreover, will be raised by the relief program
designed to take care of the unemployment caused by the minimum
wage law. By a minimum wage of, say, 75 cents an hour, we have forbidden
anyone to work forty hours in a week for less than $30. Suppose,
now, we offer only $18 a week on relief. This means that we have
forbidden a man to be usefully employed at, say $25 a week, in order
that we may support him at $18 a week in idleness. We have deprived
society of the value of his services. We have deprived the man of the
independence and self-respect that come from self-support, even at a
low level, and from performing wanted work, at the same time as we
have lowered what the man could have received by his own efforts.
These consequences follow as long as the relief payment is a
penny less than $30. Yet the higher we make the relief payment, the
worse we make the situation in other respects. If we offer $30 for
relief, then we offer many men just as much for not working as for
working. Moreover, whatever the sum we offer for relief, we create a
situation in which everyone is working only for the difference between
his wages and the amount of the relief. If the relief is $30 a week, for
example, workers offered a wage of $1 an hour, or $40 a week, are in
fact, as they see it, being asked to work for only $10 a week—for they
can get the rest without doing anything.
It may be thought that we can escape these consequences by offering
“work relief ” instead of “home relief;” but we merely change the
nature of the consequences. “Work relief ” means that we are paying
the beneficiaries more than the open market would pay them for their
efforts. Only part of their relief wage is for their efforts, therefore (in
work often of doubtful utility), while the rest is a disguised dole.
It would probably have been better all around if the government
in the first place had frankly subsidized their wages on the private
work they were already doing. We need not pursue this point further,
as it would carry us into problems not immediately relevant. But the
difficulties and consequences of relief must be kept in mind when we
consider the adoption of minimum wage laws or an increase in minimums
already fixed.
3
All this is not to argue that there is no way of raising wages. It is
merely to point out that the apparently easy method of raising them
by government fiat is the wrong way and the worst way.
This is perhaps as good a place as any to point out that what distinguishes
many reformers from those who cannot accept their proposals
is not their greater philanthropy, but their greater impatience.
The question is not whether we wish to see everybody as well off as
possible. Among men of goodwill such an aim can be taken for
granted. The real question concerns the proper means of achieving it.
And in trying to answer this we must never lose sight of a few elementary
truisms. We cannot distribute more wealth than is created. We
cannot in the long run pay labor as a whole more than it produces.
The best way to raise wages, therefore, is to raise labor productivity.
This can be done by many methods: by an increase in capital accumulation—
i.e., by an increase in the machines with which the workers
are aided; by new inventions and improvements; by more efficient
management on the part of employers; by more industriousness and
efficiency on the part of workers; by better education and training.
The more the individual worker produces, the more he increases the
wealth of the whole community. The more he produces, the more his
services are worth to consumers, and hence to employers. And the
more he is worth to employers, the more he will be paid. Real wages
come out of production, not out of government decrees.
Hey Anon,
Why are Obama supporters like Christmas lights?
Because they’re not very bright and half of them don’t work.
160
Been around for years. Kohler had them in their cast iron foundry when I was there in the mid 90’s. Cleanest foundry I’ve ever seen, by far.
@WhitenJon: So this is today’s @Trentonian cover. Who says Jersey papers can’t do tabloid cover images with the best of ’em? http://t.co/Y6G3HCa4zV
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2015/01/07/nuclear-power-turns-to-salt/
@MotherJones: Jeb Bush’s new campaign adviser: “One of the most infamous lobbyists in the world.”
“@MotherJones: Jeb Bush’s new campaign adviser: “One of the most infamous lobbyists in the world.”
Baa. Baaaaaa!
7/11 was out on Long Island, a large franchise owner who owned bunch of them him and his wife wen to Jail
anon (the good one) says:
January 9, 2015 at 8:52 am
@Chantepoule: Not a single company was prosecuted last year for paying less than minimum wage in 2014. It is estimated that 492,000 were paid less than MW
Anon, doesn’t question tweets. He also tries to bake Neiman Marcus’ cookies daily.
Reports that police have killed the 2 in France
This guy took his “no show” job to another level
Indian worker sacked after going on leave for 24 years
An Indian public official has been sacked for taking leave 24 years ago and never returning to his desk in the country’s notoriously work-shy bureaucracy, the urban development ministry said.
Assistant executive engineer A.K Verma went on leave in 1990 after joining India’s central public works department (CPWD) a decade earlier.
Verma defied bosses’ orders to return to work after his requests for additional leave were denied.
“He went on seeking extension of leave, which was not sanctioned, and defied directions to report to work,” the government said in a statement on Thursday.
Even after an inquiry found him guilty of “wilful absence from duty” in 1992, it took another 22 years and the intervention of a cabinet minister to remove him, the government said.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/09/indian-worker-sacked-after-going-on-leave-for-24-years
Can’t we just slip some ebola in their biryani and be done with them?
Great. Now some people will say look how good NJ/USA is … in comparison.
FKA 2010 Buyer says:
January 9, 2015 at 11:45 am
This guy took his “no show” job to another level
Indian worker sacked after going on leave for 24 years
An Indian public official has been sacked for taking leave 24 years ago and never returning to his desk in the country’s notoriously work-shy bureaucracy, the urban development ministry said.
Assistant executive engineer A.K Verma went on leave in 1990 after joining India’s central public works department (CPWD) a decade earlier.
Verma defied bosses’ orders to return to work after his requests for additional leave were denied.
“He went on seeking extension of leave, which was not sanctioned, and defied directions to report to work,” the government said in a statement on Thursday.
Even after an inquiry found him guilty of “wilful absence from duty” in 1992, it took another 22 years and the intervention of a cabinet minister to remove him, the government said.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/09/indian-worker-sacked-after-going-on-leave-for-24-years
India is insane. There is no law there, or just a complete lack of enforcement.
Looks like technology will soon do the work of another worker.
——————————————
Self-Service Lender Seeks Speedy Mortgages with Fewer Loan Officers
While most prospective borrowers start the mortgage process over the Internet, the typical consumer experience transitions offline before the loan closes. But a mortgage lender backed by Silicon Valley investors wants to close that gap, while at the same time, wring out origination costs by having consumers self-service loan applications…..
From the airport to the grocery store — and throughout the digital traverses of the Internet — technology has increasingly enabled self-service commerce. …..
But the do-it-yourself approach has so far only penetrated parts of the mortgage process. Lenders may advertise on lead generation websites, but borrowers are often routed offline to call centers and telemarketing reps.
http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/technology/self-service-lender-seeks-speedy-mortgages-with-fewer-loan-officers-1043552-1.html
I don’t see any reason why mortgage lending couldn’t be nearly 100% automated with few, if any, humans involved. I say nearly, mainly because there are likely a number of exception cases that would require verification/validation. I suspect most of the work is manual since it involves looking at paper, handwritten forms, data entry, making phone calls, mailing/faxing documentation, public filing and signing paper. All of these activities are ancillary to the decisioning and transactional process.
[174] joyce
A breeder reactor using liquid sodium?
Good luck getting that one zoned anywhere outside of a USG installation.
[172] hughes
Not sure that those were on the scale of what’s needed to move the needle. I’m no expert but the article I linked suggested that we aren’t there yet.
I’ve seen a bunch of those robotic floor cleaners in big warehouses, I thought they are pretty common.
Good luck getting “any new reactor” …
Comrade Nom Deplume, who needs to stop screwing around and get back to work says:
January 9, 2015 at 12:16 pm
[174] joyce
A breeder reactor using liquid sodium?
Good luck getting that one zoned anywhere outside of a USG installation.
Funny though, technology is outcompeting even the robots…
Anyone remember the mail delivery robots that would drive around large offices? When was the last time anyone even got mail in their desk, or office anymore? Hell, when was the last time you heard the words “mail room” Technology 1 – Robot 0 – People – 0
Used to run a big data center, mainframe era, we had a huge tape library with a robot, before that we had a small army of people called “tape librarians” and “operators” who switched tape. Yeah, you are probably wondering what the hell tape is, and why you have so much that you need a robot to file it. Well, turns out online storage capacity is now cheaper than tapes, robots, or people. Technology 2 – Robot 0 – People 0
Grim – 190 – I just had a discussion with my admin regarding what an inter-office envelope was and how they can be re-used, until all the fields are filled. I have to manually sign documents that are stored in our VA back-office, they get sent inter-office. I asked her why I kept seeing brand new inter-office envelopes every time. Granted she is 23 and had no idea they could be re-used.
[190] grim
I remember a mail delivery robot at Fidelity. Mail delivery is definitely going to be extinct in our lifetimes.
As for cleaning robots, again I defer to your superior knowledge but don’t know that the tech has really gotten around to making this commonplace. Probably due to cost benefit; for most applications, it was still cheaper to use people. But I can see than ending; you check into your hotel and see bots cleaning tile floors and vacuuming halls and banquet rooms. And the first places you will see them are at Sea-Tac and other high min. wage/high cost locations.
But as long as all those GED holders can get jobs creating the bots, it’s all good.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/montclair-state-university-to-spend-210k-on-hawk-sculpture-1.1189113
You sure tuition is expensive because of demand?
My dog ate my roomba, I think it got too close to the kibble.
Dog 1 Robot 0
Grim,
Something like these?
http://intellibotrobotics.com/products/
I think that the issue is that the bot still has to be married to the space (by programming, tracks, fixtures, etc), and that the space allow for the bot to work (using bot only in space it can handle). In things like malls and older buildings with angles that these bots can’t access, that is still an issue. Hence my comment about building design changing to accommodate robotic workforces.
I can even foresee buildings with bot-only floors and elevators that are smaller, lower, narrower, and don’t have creature comforts or safety features required of human occupied space. When the bots have to come into your world, they do so through their own doors and elevators, and disappear into their own worlds for transit, recharge, and self-maintenance.
[193] grim
I remember when folks at UMass went nuts over something like 50K for a sculpture that was likened to the roof of a semi trailer that had gone under a low bridge.
Before they were all moved to Mexico, I assume.
Hughesrep says:
January 9, 2015 at 11:14 am
160
Been around for years. Kohler had them in their cast iron foundry when I was there in the mid 90′s. Cleanest foundry I’ve ever seen, by far.
Grim [194];
My dog ate my roomba, I think it got too close to the kibble.
Dog 1 Robot 0
Not even close to the same weight class.
You know, with all this talk about having to lay off employees, relocating headquarters, high corporate taxes, property taxes, global competition, I wish I ran a company where the most pressing issue was to decide what unnecessary thing we could buy for $200,000. How did this decision go down in the board room?
Hey Bill you know what we need?
What Joe?
A bird, a big fucking bird, I mean a massive bird
Holy shit Joe, that’s an awesome idea, what’s it going to cost
We can’t go cheap, I mean, this has got to be a big ass bird, a quarter of a mil?
Fuck Yeah, let’s do it, all in favor?
Aye!
“Trustees voted for the expense in October, with little public comment or discussion. At their meeting, Professor Rich Wolfson, who heads the union representing faculty, librarians and professional staff, questioned the move.”
Rich Wolfson was by far my best and smartest professor. Though he was addicted to the concept of nuclear fusion and spent a lot of time helping out at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. He was a bit of a mentor to me. Glad to see he’s still fighting the fight.
I can’t wait for opposing school rivals to paint the bird.
Correction of the trustee transcript from the meeting:
Joe: Hey Bill you know what we need?
Bill: What Joe?
Joe: A bird, a big fucking bird statue, I mean a massive bird
Wolfson: That’s the stupidi(cut)
Bill: Holy shit Joe, that’s an awesome idea, what’s it going to cost
Wolfson: C’mon guys, do we really nee(cut)
Joe: We can’t go cheap, I mean, this has got to be a big ass bird, huge even, a quarter of a mil?
Wolfson: That’s outrage(cut)
Bill: Fuck Yeah, let’s do it, all in favor?
Wolfson: No, we can’t poss(cut)
All (Except Wolfson): Aye!
Thanks.
Grim unmod
[131] The planes, the planes….. I think those are not only $1.5 billion worth of aircraft, but that’s after $15 billion of development and two months before they were approved by the FAA and probably all that they have built so far. Qatar received their first plane on 12/22, it won’t even take it’s first commercial flight until next week. No other A350’s have been delivered yet.
Yeah baby!!!
Stu: Those al-Qaida Paris guys went after Jews that worked at some printing plant near de Gaulle…….couldn’t that be you, just substitute EWR?
Libturd in the City says:
January 9, 2015 at 2:15 pm
Thanks.
207. Oh vey. I see building security services growth. Clot Protective Services, how may Indirect your call.
#7 Clot
I don’t think people remember the origins of that redistribution comment. I went to look back in the archives for it and then remembered that a lot of my discussions from 2008 period seem to have been deleted. I assume they were part of the 150 page “remove and desist”.
This place was a lot more civil back then. There was humor and respect. You were still in RE, and not the obstreperous troll you morphed into. Chi, while still wearing his wife’s eyeliner and listening to Eurotrash, was going through his “Revenge of the Sith” phase and was heading over to the GOP dark side; pulling the lever for Emperor McCain. Gary wasn’t worried about over priced sh1boxes, but how many sugars to put in his mocha venti soy latte at the local Starbucks.
The good old days.
Grim,
A little local competition?
http://www.tuthilltown.com/products/aged-spirits/hudson-baby-bourbon-whiskey
I still say that Bacon Bourbon would be a winner.
Little? No no, the are undoubtedly “big time” as far as craft goes. They sold the Hudson brand to Wm Grant and Sons, but still manufacture. Ralph is a really good guy, we’ve talked a couple of times. They have a serious operation. Arguably the most successful craft distiller in the history of craft distilling.
By the way, they are absolutely genius with regards to marketing.
I say that because they can command a standard retail whiskey price for a 375 bottle, and consumers did not flinch.
Which is nearly $70 for what is basically 5-10 month old whiskey.
Johnnie Walker can only dream of that.
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/rollover-data.html?WT.srch=1&wtPaidSearchTerm=%2Batt+%2Brollover&gclid=CIfa167yh8MCFTFp7AodmygATg#fbid=aXlwOIKVsUK
The JJ Consumer Electronics Show:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102325235
According to this, the University only paid $15K for this POS. Still too much money. I think the actual cost was more but it was a gift from a class. Probably a gag gift.
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMH98G_Quinnipiac_University_of_Massachusetts_Amherst_MA
[209] fabian,
Searching the archives? Devoting a lot more attention to this than I am, that’s for sure.
Nom [215];
Pikers.
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM13MJ_The_Sentinel_Albert_Paley_Rochester_NY
This picture should alarm minimum-wage proponents
http://www.aei.org/publication/picture-alarm-minimum-wage-proponents/
I recently pointed to a new NBER working paper from Jeffrey Clemens and Michael Wither of the University of California, San Diego, that suggests the 30% increase in the average effective minimum wage over the late 2000s “reduced the national employment-to-population ratio — the share of adults with any kind of job — by 0.7 percentage point” between December 2006 and December 2012. Now maybe they got the story wrong, but their research seems to add to abundant evidence about negative job impacts from raising the minimum wage.
Now consider this from the Economist:
In a brand-new McDonald’s outlet near its headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, customers do not have to queue at the counter. They can go to a touch screen and build their own burger by choosing a bun, toppings and sauces from a list of more than 20 “premium” ingredients, including grilled mushrooms, guacamole and caramelised onions. Then they sit down, waiting an average of seven minutes until a server brings their burgers to their table.
The company is planning to roll out its “Create Your Taste” burgers in up to 2,000 restaurants—it is not saying where—by late 2015, and possibly in more places if they do well. McDonald’s is also trying to engage with customers on social media and is working on a smartphone app, as well as testing mobile-payment systems such as Apple Pay, Softcard and Google Wallet.
When you combine the Clemens-Wither stuff with how automation is replacing routine sort of jobs, the superiority of wage subsidies like the Earned Income Tax Credit seems compelling, at least to me. As Clemens and Wither note:
By contrast, analyses of the EITC have found it to increase both the employment of low-skilled adults and the incomes available to their families (Eissa and Liebman, 1996; Meyer and Rosenbaum, 2001; Eissa and Hoynes, 2006). The EITC has also been found to significantly reduce both inequality (Liebman, 1998) and tax-inclusive poverty metrics, in particular for children (Hoynes, Page, and Stevens, 2006). Evidence on outcomes with long-run implications further suggest that the EITC has tended to have its intended effects. Dahl and Lochner (2012), for example, find that influxes of EITC dollars improve the academic performance of recipient households’ children. This too contrasts with our evidence on the minimum wage’s effects on medium-run economic mobility.
Grim, got gifted a bottle of Bookers’ Bourbon last week. WHOA!. TOTALLY unexpected!
Still good but it seemed to be lacking something (besides the packaging).
So MANY good posts today! Fortunately, I was busy at the paying (good) job.
Off to bed with my wife (kiddies are at a neighbors house with theirs)… ;).
Go long NJT!
@iowahawkblog: Selective pixelization: in pic of dead CH editor, NY Daily News blurs cartoon of Mohammed, leaves hooked-nosed Jew http://t.co/yCEJPfBc3m
I always thought the meaning of that cartoon on the cover was those were two groups of people you weren’t “allowed” to make fun of.
Who is Jewish ChiFi. Allahu Akbar!
Nom,
$1 is too much for that supposed sculpture.
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