From the Star Ledger:
Lawmakers now want 3 casinos in northern N.J.
Several state lawmakers who want to allow casino gambling outside of Atlantic City are now seeking as many as three casinos in northern New Jersey — up from two.
The trio of state Assembly members from Essex, Bergen and Hudson Counties on Monday announced that they’ve introduced a proposed constitutional amendment — which, if passed by the Legislature, would have to be approved by voters — to allow the casinos in their three counties.
Revenue from the casinos would in part go to redeveloping Atlantic City, which has been devastated by the downturn of its gambling industry largely due to competition from neighboring states.
“We can’t sit by any longer. The history of Atlantic City is one I was part of,” Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-Essex), a former casino executive who is sponsoring the resolution with Assembly members Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen) and Raj Mukherji (D-Hudson), said during a Statehouse press conference. “The business has changed. We’ve had tremendous competition from our neighboring states… If you don’t adapt, you become extinct and you become a dinosaur.”
…
The number has increased to three in the newest proposal as support for expanding gaming has increased, with formerly staunch opponents like Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and Gov. Chris Christie now being open to it.“I’ve been fighting for this for six or seven years. When I started this effort, people thought it was folly. This has become a reality,” Caputo said.
…
Already, potential operators and investors are pitching casino plans for The Meadowlands and Jersey City. Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo thinks Newark would be an ideal location for one.
Atlantic City is like the Abbott District of Casinos.
From the Star Ledger:
Jersey City residents ready for a casino
Jersey City residents are ready to hit the jackpot.
With a bill that would allow voters to approve giving the Legislature authority to establish casinos in Hudson, Bergen, and Essex counties, residents are hoping they
will be able to roll the dice and play the slots close to home.
Overwhelmingly, people interviewed yesterday in different parts of the city said bringing casinos to Hudson County and North Jersey is a sure winner.
“I think it would be great,” said Latisha Palmer, 29, of Jersey City. “It’s something different to do in the area.”
The current state constitution only allows for casino gambling in Atlantic City. For many people in Hudson County, traveling more than 120 miles to gamble is too much of a hassle.
“No one wants to go to New York or Pennsylvania (where there are casinos),” a woman, who chose not to give her name, said.
Many residents admit they enjoy trying their luck at the felt tables, but because Atlantic City is so far they don’t spend much time there.
[2] grim
” For many people in Hudson County, traveling more than 120 miles to gamble is too much of a hassle.”
Now there’s a statement with sooooo many possible permutations.
[133] [prior thread] DFENS
Can I just say Ewwww?
Ain’t no way I’d ever be boinking Caitlyn Maximus, even if she is further along that path than Jenner and has the right plumbing.
I am a bit of an expert on AC. The issue of fixing AC by sending gambling revenues generated from North Jersey casin0s will spell the end of AC. You will also see a spike in prostitution as well as an increase in gambling addicts. It’s true AC blew it by not returning any revenue to the local population during its heyday, but you simply can’t fix it now that there is much less revenue. If you want to turn Atlantic City into Camden, simply open that casin0 in the Meadowlands.
By the way. Has anyone seen all of the cranes in front of Xanapoo? Looks like the casin0 may be a done deal.
A sure winner would be legalized prostitution. Not like it’s a new concept in NJ, Short Hills and Franklin Lakes wives have been engaging in it for years. Why not collect the taxes?
“Overwhelmingly, people interviewed yesterday in different parts of the city said bringing casinos to Hudson County and North Jersey is a sure winner.”
Remember when it was acceptable to say “Ewwww” to the sight of a black person much less the thought of s-x with one. Glad to see ignorance and bigotry is alive and well.
[133] [prior thread] DFENS
Can I just say Ewwww?
Ain’t no way I’d ever be boinking Caitlyn Maximus, even if she is further along that path than Jenner and has the right plumbing.
Nothing but a Kardashian publicity stunt, that family is just taking cash to the bank, bunch of suckers if you give it even a second of publicity.
[6] ottoman
Ordinarily, I’d ignore such drivel but this warrants a Go Fcuk Yourself.
Give me a time and place, and I’ll be glad to redeliver it in person.
Can’t wait for the uproar about the sex tape.
Move on.
If you’re going to allow casinos outside of Atlantic City, allow them in every county. Essex, Bergen, and Hudson counties should not be allowed their little politically connected monopolies.
5 – AC is dead, it’s clear that the politicians are not willing to make the changes necessary to ensure success. They are only interested in status quo.
Fining Straub after he bought Revel was all I needed to see.
If you’re going to allow cas1n0s outside of Atl@ntic City, allow them in every county. Essex, Bergen, and Hudson counties should not be allowed their little politically connected monopolies.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming . . . .
Ragnar’s comment from yesterday on what to call Jenner reminded me of this line:
“That’s going to cause some confusion. Mind if we call you Bruce to keep it clear?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f_p0CgPeyA
Comments from Straub in April:
“I’ll pack my bags and this [Revel redevelopment project] will sit here for three years,” he said. “People, if you’re going to stand in our way, we’re packing our bags and headed down south…I’m starting to buck up against a lot of details that cause people to go out of business…I can see why Caesars shut down Showboat.”
Casino in Newark sounds like a terrible idea, Joey.
Meadowlands makes sense, as does JC. I can’t think of any other areas that would make any sense.
I’m sure Sussex/Vernon are drooling over this, how many times did they think the old Sussex resorts could turn into casinos (Playboy club anyone?). Besides, this is almost as far out as Penn.
Central Jersey? Where in Central Jersey? That doesn’t make any sense at all. Bridgewater is the only viable area, and I’m pretty sure Bridgewater wouldn’t want it.
By the way, the word “Ca$ino” will moderate you, so comment accordingly.
““We can’t sit by any longer. The history of Atlantic City is one I was part of,” Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-Essex)”
Anyone have a gif of the snotty little sister in the AT&T bedazzling commercial? “And you admit that?!”
Bloomberg:
Don’t Trust Asia’s Booming Stock Markets
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-06-01/don-t-trust-asia-s-booming-stock-markets
“Could a lack of liquidity soon cause Asia’s stock markets to crash? That question might seem fanciful at first glance. Central banks in Frankfurt, London, Tokyo and Washington, by keeping policy rates near or below zero, have been responsible for the arrival of unprecedented waves of cash on Asian financial markets. It’s no accident that Shanghai stocks are up 137 percent over the last 12 months even as the Chinese economy has slowed; that the Nikkei stock exchange is up 41 percent surge even as deflation returns to Japan; and that South Korea’s Kospi index is near record highs even as that country’s exports are slumping.”
“Remember when it was acceptable to say “Ewwww” to the sight of a black person much less the thought of s-x with one.”
Ummm….no!
FlabMax,
You are aware that the Financial Times is owned by Pearson. That evil megaglobal giant that created the ‘evil’ PARCC tests?
Movie released in 1989, depicts time travel from 1985 to the “future” in 2015…..coincidence?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4m848bh1iY
[18] Lib
Funny, because I knew a few black women over the years that I would have loved to have nailed. Despite some possible chances over the years, it’s the one major ethnic group that eluded me. Oh well.
(OK, TMI, I know. Channeling my inner JJ here)
I love Unions and lobbying. I just found this nugget online.
“Over the last decade, Pearson has spent about $1 million on lobbying in Trenton, including $60,000 last year, according to records filed with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission. The company is a long-time client of Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti, one of the state capital’s largest lobbying groups, which lobbies lawmakers on Pearson’s behalf on education-related legislation.
By comparison, the New Jersey Education Association, the chief critic of the PARCC exams, spent more than $3.6 million on lobbying in the last two years alone, according to the teacher union’s lobbying records.”
Nom,
Don’t fret. I heard it’s not that different than attempting to impregnate a Vidalia.
[23] lib,
I don’t know. There were a couple of ladies I had a better than minimal chance with and they were damned hot. If I only had a Wayback Machine . . .
[24] redux
I just realized I triggered JJ. I’m sorry everyone.
yes, it reflects bigotry and se xual insecurity. surprised Chifi hasn’t said anything yet
Ottoman says:
June 2, 2015 at 7:36 am
Remember when it was acceptable to say “Ewwww” to the sight of a black person much less the thought of s-x with one. Glad to see ignorance and bigotry is alive and well.
[133] [prior thread] DFENS
Can I just say Ewwww?
Ain’t no way I’d ever be boinking Caitlyn Maximus, even if she is further along that path than Jenner and has the right plumbing.
19. Lib.
That kind of thing reminds me of crime type tv shows with flow charts using index cards.
24. Post of the day….
[26] anon (and for good reason)
Ugh. Project much?
Let me know when your parents decide to lawyer up and sue your school district. I’ll give them a discount.
The white majority elected a black president…twice. Can we get off the racism tip.
[30] Lib,
Bill Clinton was fond of saying “that dog won’t hunt . . .” when referring to tired, hackneyed and hoary arguments.
The left’s “race card” dog (or dog whistle, to use their vernacular) is gasping for air and its all they can do to keep it from dying. Without that, they have very little. So they can’t let it die.
[30] Lib,
I don’t know why, but hearing from the shy nightjars reminded me of this trial, one I sat in on from time to time because, well, I was right there anyway.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-03-02-animal-activists-convicted_x.htm
The mindset and hubris of the defendants was unreal. In fact, a tidbit not oft reported was that right after conviction and sentencing, they were given 30 days to report and ordered not to associate with their “comrades.” But one of them went right out and held a “home demonstration” that week. Judge Thompson, who is as liberal as they get, blew a gasket and revoked the order giving them 30 days to report.
I wonder how ill they would have been if they knew the Judge’s court clerk had a coffee mug that said “PETA-People Eating Tasty Animals”
LOL. You guys are really funny. It’s always the religious fervent that seem to be hiding their true feelings. I’m sure in Washington its rampant on both sides but the Repubs (Duggar and Hastert) seem to stealing the spotlight recently.
Who’s going to be the first to say you hooked up with Caitlyn and make a fortune with a tell all book.
[30]
Electing a black President (twice) does not mean there is an end of racism in America. That’s like saying that because Clinton and Bush were elected that the perception of the South is held in the same regards as the North.
And “that dog don’t hunt” meaning, that’s a weak argument
Yes, cas1nos everywhere. It’s yet another tax on the poor. The whole state of NJ will eventually be one big cas1no-friendly enterprise. Every 7-11 and convenience store will have a few slot machines and there will be gambling parlors located within a two minute drive from one’s home regardless of location. The legalization of weed is also just around the corner. Don’t be shocked when prost1tution becomes legalized in our life time as well. Whatever it takes to feed public funds will be done.
Remember HLS well. Knew them in the UK during that period. Got so bad they had their accounts dropped by the commercial banks, no one wanted to take the risk of even touching the company. Bank of England opened an account for them which was pretty crazy. Equivalent of a smallish NJ based firm having their bank account directly at the Fed.
That group’s actions even confounded the Euro left, which really says something.
I’m all for the below. Let’s get in as much deviancy as humanly possible. Bring it all on, put it everywhere in the State that will take it. Live s3x shows, gambling, prostitution, open air drug markets, animal fights.
Ghetto-ization is great. Means the ‘good’ areas will absolutely skyrocket in value. Self selected redlining.
For fast eddie 35
“Electing a black President (twice) does not mean there is an end of racism in America.”
I never said that. But the low hanging fruit has been picked. Sure there are still racists, just as there are terrorists, bad cops, bad teachers and corrupt politicians. Actually, I would argue that the corrupt politician is probably where the largest ratio of bad to good exists among that list.
As for Anon, I am really not surprised to hear of his adulation of ladies with man parts.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-06-01/woman-brings-apple-1-museum-piece-to-the-dump
Speaking of onions this real estate market is in bubble territory. I get a constant stream of new listings on Long Island. This one took the cake. “Host a Wedding” backyard.
Read the description and take a guess at size on yard and square footage.
Super Clean And Well Maintained Large Expanded 5 Bedroom Home. Spacious Rooms, Manicured Front And Back Yards. New Siding And Roof. Great For Large Family. Lots Of Closet Space, Wonderful Hardwood Flooring. Host A Wedding In This Yard (Its Been Done) Motivated Seller!.
Lot Sqft:6,000
Total Living Area 1783 square feet
Here is the Host a Wedding House great for a large family. Bubble time
Host a wedding and a large family if you’re upgrading from Port Authority showers.
[39] Libturd
Fair point but there are people that have that thought….
Credit where credit is due.
After a mindbindingly inane dailykos re-post last night Punkin’s first link today is from bloomberg news, which was among the most highly ranked news outlets in one of yesterday’s discussions.
Bravo, punkin, seriously.
No piling on him. One step at a time, everyone.
Leftwing,
I fear you will soon be disappointed by Plumpy.
Eddie,
Don’t worry about everyone being either a lotto player or lotto employee in NJ. Our resident PhD in economics Pumpking has a way to use the lotto to make the economy grow. All NJ has to do is make every lotto ticket a winner, guaranteed to pay out above the cost of purchase, and that will put money in the pockets of the poor and middle class who will spend money and make everyone rich. That’s called “boosting demand”. So everyone will be buying lotto tickets and getting richer every day. The super-rich will be too busy to stoop to scratching tickets, so it would also reduce income inequality.
How could it go wrong?
re # 7 – Austin Powers “that’s a man baby”
I am with Grim on this they are laughing all the way to the bank. It is what a $100 million payday to put on a dress?
Here is a shirtless pic, safe for work since it is a man not a woman or is it?
http://www.tmz.com/2013/04/30/bruce-jenner-shirtless-paddleboard-greece-photo/
And some housing related news
More older Americans are buried by housing debt
Al and Saundra Karp have found an unconventional way to raise money and help save their Miami-area home from foreclosure: They’re lining up gigs for their family jazz band.
They enjoy performing. But it isn’t exactly how Al, an 86-year-old Korean War vet, or Saundra, 76, had expected to spend their retirement.
Of all the financial threats facing Americans of retirement age — outliving savings, falling for scams, paying for long-term care — housing isn’t supposed to be one. But after a home-price collapse, the worst recession since the 1930s and some calamitous decisions to turn homes into cash machines, millions of them are straining to make house payments.
The consequences can be severe. Retirees who use retirement money to pay housing costs can face disaster if their health deteriorates or their savings run short. They’re more likely to need help from the government, charities or their children. Or they must keep working deep into retirement.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/06/02/more-older-americans-are-buried-by-housing-debt/
re# 50 – “Or they must keep working deep into retirement.”
OR THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE A MORTGAGE AT 86 YEARS OLD!
leftwing and Ragnar,
Of course, give the people what they want. Perhaps we can p1mp the senat0rs wives and elect a horse to high counsel! Thousands of distracted arguments, thousands of sublime solutions and logic to be found nowhere. The empire is firmly entering free fall.
Maybe these old folks who are buried in housing debt should have either paid off their home loans in the 45 years in which they were paying for shelter, or saved some of the money that didn’t go towards rent. I have no sympathy for anyone who retires who didn’t save enough for decent supplemental medical insurance and housing costs.
Fast Eddie / Leftwing,
Would you have a problem with decriminalizing drugs and gambling in this State / Country?
53.
Maybe some of them were married to a spouse who suddenly at 45 decided they were tired of scrimping/saving, then decided to leave with “their half” plus a check whose amount was decided in kangaroo court….
Eddie, damn, I forget the horse shows (the NSFW kind). Thx.
Bring it on baby. Let any NJ municipality take these vices that wants them. We’ll front run areas that won’t. Have our own little enclaves, do a double on our house values with inbound migration.
Libturd in the City:
Obviously you haven’t experienced chronic medical care costs (which can even result in bankruptcy), or repeated or long-term lay-offs (which we have seen hit most of our over 55 friends in NJ). Those things absolutely destroy savings, no matter how frugally one lives.
NJ monthly cost of living is huge, esp. thanks to property taxes.
” I have no sympathy for anyone who retires who didn’t save enough for decent supplemental medical insurance and housing costs.”
joyce,
Would you have a problem with decriminalizing drugs and gambling in this State / Country?
I could care less. Do you mean p0t or blow and smack as well? If it’s p0t and gambling, let the muppets go nuts. The other stuff, no. We’re in a downward spiral anyway. I feel for my kids, though.
Nominate 48 for post of the day. Not directed toward you, pumpkin. Brilliant take on economic theory lol.
Even money bet someone is trying to figure out why is hasn’t been tried already.
The reason I asked is because it’s usually the liberals who want to control people’s lives. Personal responsibility and all that.
Nice job. Since, you are well versed in economics, what do you suggest we do to get the economy out of the stagflation rut that has been created by extreme income inequality. Yes, it’s extreme when you have some worth billions and others worth nothing. So how can we fix the current dilemma in the economy? It’s bound to become the most important issue in next year’s election.
Ragnar says:
June 2, 2015 at 10:23 am
Eddie,
Don’t worry about everyone being either a lotto player or lotto employee in NJ. Our resident PhD in economics Pumpking has a way to use the lotto to make the economy grow. All NJ has to do is make every lotto ticket a winner, guaranteed to pay out above the cost of purchase, and that will put money in the pockets of the poor and middle class who will spend money and make everyone rich. That’s called “boosting demand”. So everyone will be buying lotto tickets and getting richer every day. The super-rich will be too busy to stoop to scratching tickets, so it would also reduce income inequality.
How could it go wrong?
54 Gambling is always ok as long as certain groups get their “cut”.
“Obviously you haven’t experienced chronic medical care costs (which can even result in bankruptcy), or repeated or long-term lay-offs (which we have seen hit most of our over 55 friends in NJ). Those things absolutely destroy savings, no matter how frugally one lives.”
True and I did think of that. Hopefully I can learn enough about Family Savings Trusts to shield my assets from such an occurrence. Lord knows, I’m not paying a lawyer 1,000s a year for something that shouldn’t require such expertise. Heck, it might make sense for me to take some law classes just to figure it out.
What’s your recommendation for fixing the current low growth in the economy due to income inequality?
leftwing says:
June 2, 2015 at 11:05 am
Nominate 48 for post of the day. Not directed toward you, pumpkin. Brilliant take on economic theory lol.
Even money bet someone is trying to figure out why is hasn’t been tried already.
“that has been created by extreme income inequality.”
You can’t ask a question with a premise you created. That’s wrong by the way. This is an effect, not a cause. Idiot.
What your recommendation for fixing the urban education crisis we’re currently facing due to shifting weather patterns in the pacific northwest?
The Great Pumpkin says:
June 2, 2015 at 11:14 am
What’s your recommendation for fixing the current low growth in the economy due to income inequality?
[33] FKA
“Who’s going to be the first to say you hooked up with Caitlyn and make a fortune with a tell all book.”
Not me. I’m old enough to remember the Wheaties Box Bruce, and I just don’t know I could get the manparts to work with that visual in my head.
Besides the missus is old school and would not take kindly to me boinking anyone, even if it were for a huge payday. And then there is the whole logistical thing of moving beyond hypothetical to actuality–not an easy transition. Good thing I’m not trying to get in line.
FKA, take your shot and let us know how it turns out.
(seriously, all this hate over the fact that I don’t want to fcuk Fabian, and have no interest in fcuking Bruce Jenner, or whoever he is now).
We can reduce income inequality by:
1. Reversing globalization
2. Reversing technology
3. Ending education
..please handle…
joyce, my tongue in cheek ‘bring on all the vices’ is to illustrate freedom to move to the lowest common denominator inevitably hurts those at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder.
in that context, no, liberalizing more and more marginal activities would not be beneficial to society in total and certainly not for the lower end in particular. so from a societal context i would not support it.
from a purely personal and selfish point of view i don’t care. i have the will and ability to ‘enclave’ myself and those close to me.
the issue for me arises when such items are forced upon me. i have no problem with ‘caitlyn’ provided that my kids can look at ‘her’ and say ‘ewww’ and walk away if they want. the issue arises when bruce gets the ability to become caitlyn, but my kids’ right to find it offensive and walk away are abridged.
as an aside, cbs this morning profiled her with the emphasis on courage. have to love teenage boys. ‘dad, don’t talk to me about courage until she gets enough ba11s to chop them off’
This place is devolving. I’m putting on my Cone of Silence now.
Just another example of New Jersey’s need to regulate what is not necessary to regulate. I just learned that my online investment club, which was formed in another state, is required to annually file a partnership return in NJ since one of the partners (moi) lives in NJ. There is no tax nor filing fee as investment clubs with under a certain level of assets need not pay. So why the heck do they require this? We are one of like three states with this requirement. Keep in mind, I submit a K-1 with my state income tax return so they get their proper share already. I will now need to file eight partnership returns. I wonder what it will cost the state to review these eight returns?
F’n NJ. And you wonder why it’s so expensive to live here.
There is a lot of global income inequality going on….how are we working to increase standards of living and income in Asia, Africa, etc? . Perhaps a world tax so that those earning over $30,000 euros can fund an operation to spur growth elsewhere?
[69] leftwing
“have to love teenage boys. ‘dad, don’t talk to me about courage until she gets enough ba11s to chop them off’
Ha. Great point. Night y’all.
This idiot needs you to explain this for him.
“There’s a continuing debate as to the broader impact of income inequality. Some claim that while it hurts those who experience it, there’s not a wider effect. On the other side of the issue are the theories that with more concentration of wealth in fewer hands, there’s an impact on the economy overall.
According to a new study from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the latter are right. There is and has been a reduction of economic growth because of the growing concentration of income among a smaller portion of the global population.
According to the OECD, the gap between the richest and poorest in most member countries is at its highest in the last 30 years. In addition, a broader measure of inequality called the Gini constant (0 when everyone has the same income and 1 when a single person has all income) has been on the rise. The U.S. is at the top of the scale except for Mexico, which has by far the worst income inequality of the OECD states.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2014/12/09/income-inequality-hurts-economic-growth/
joyce says:
June 2, 2015 at 11:15 am
“that has been created by extreme income inequality.”
You can’t ask a question with a premise you created. That’s wrong by the way. This is an effect, not a cause. Idiot.
Interesting where the US ranks in income inequality.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality
Pumps,
They (the powers that be) have no interest in fixing it. A crappy economy helps them with cheap labor, lower long term interest rates, and the ability to buy assets at lower costs from those desperate to sell. There is plenty of money to be made for those in the right positions.
Much of the stock market paper gains came from out sourcing work and diluting the American workforce with temporary labor from the outside. People make money from this. Technology is the 3rd leg of the triad, it increased efficiency and productivity.
Once again, I state look at the kids in the playground- fast, medium, slow.
No different to some than animals in a shelter.
They know they have no use for the last 2 groups, yet many go to their houses of worship and proclaim what good citizens they are, when really they are a little bit closer to 1925 Germany than to God/Allah/whomever you worship.
It’s called hypocrisy.
Let’s concentrate on the U.S. for now, before we take on the problems of the world.
1987 Condo says:
June 2, 2015 at 11:19 am
There is a lot of global income inequality going on….how are we working to increase standards of living and income in Asia, Africa, etc? . Perhaps a world tax so that those earning over $30,000 euros can fund an operation to spur growth elsewhere?
Funny..every chart I read has the US in a different position. Hmmmm. Perhaps the facts don’t meet the narrative. Got to give those fundamentalist progressives something to rally the sheep behind.
Great points. Well said!!
phoenix says:
June 2, 2015 at 11:26 am
Pumps,
They (the powers that be) have no interest in fixing it. A crappy economy helps them with cheap labor, lower long term interest rates, and the ability to buy assets at lower costs from those desperate to sell. There is plenty of money to be made for those in the right positions.
Much of the stock market paper gains came from out sourcing work and diluting the American workforce with temporary labor from the outside. People make money from this. Technology is the 3rd leg of the triad, it increased efficiency and productivity.
Once again, I state look at the kids in the playground- fast, medium, slow.
No different to some than animals in a shelter.
They know they have no use for the last 2 groups, yet many go to their houses of worship and proclaim what good citizens they are, when really they are a little bit closer to 1925 Germany than to God/Allah/whomever you worship.
It’s called hypocrisy.
I agree mostly. I want to point out that most of the activities you’re referring to as “marginal” were made so due to having to operate in the shadows (i.e. black market).
It’s a separate issue things being forced on you. I couldn’t agree more… of course one [should] have the right to do something that someone else finds weird and/or objectionable. Those two things can coexist.
I wonder if we disagree on the cause of that.
Comrade Nom Deplume, who needs to stop screwing around and get back to work says:
June 2, 2015 at 11:18 am
This place is devolving. I’m putting on my Cone of Silence now.
79- I don’t know why people don’t realize this?
[67] Comrade
None for me thanks. I’m old enough to remember the Wheaties Bruce too. I can’t imagine what the guys he bet is thinking right now.
#77..really? I think it is all intertwined…
74
Idiot,
You can’t just assume X. And say due to X, we now have Y.
What causes X?
[50] highlights from the article. File under “We have met the enemy and they are us”
“Lindner had bought the house for $330,000 in the late 1980s. But he’d refinanced to pull out money to invest, swelling the mortgage to $680,000.”
“Ralph Kanz, 60, and Martha Lowe, 56, of Oakland bought too much house at the wrong time: They paid $487,000 for a home in Oakland, California, in 2005.
At the time, Lowe was making $51,000 at an environmental consultant. Kanz was experimenting in commercial fishing and earning around $10,000.
Worse, the couple took on a dangerous mortgage: They had to pay only interest for 10 years. They would then be hit with bigger payments, including the principal, for the next 20.”
“West Virginia natives Jim, 67, and LaRue Carnes, 63, moved to Sacramento, California, in 1978 and bought a house for $54,000. For 33 years, Jim worked as a newspaper reporter and editor. They refinanced their mortgage several times and pulled money out of the house and took on higher mortgage payments.
“Foolishly, like so many Americans, we used the house as a bank,” LaRue says.”
“Janet Snyder, who gets by on a $1,215 monthly Social Security check, says she didn’t even know that her husband, Theodore, had taken out a $225,000 reverse mortgage on their Las Vegas town house. When he died in 2010 at age 77, the bank wanted its money back and “would not talk to me,” Janet says.”
“Al and Saundra Karp bought their three-bedroom home in North Miami Beach, Florida, for $77,000 in 1980. Over the years, they refinanced, partly to pay down credit-card debt, and their mortgage swelled to $288,000.”
I say good for Bruce. But the publicity aspect of it is nothing more than a money grab. He said “grab.”
Chif was announcing the death of Petrobras a few weeks ago and now they are issuing 100 year bonds.
Petrobras, the scandal-ridden, junk-rated, state-controlled Brazilian oil producer, surprised markets to sell $2.5bn worth of bonds with a 100-year maturity on Monday.
Here’s what what the unusual debt sale can tell us about markets.
Investors are still craving returns – The new Petrobras debt sold like hot cakes thanks to the juicy returns on offer. Bloomberg reports that the company issued the bonds to yield 8.45 percent — that’s far higher than Mexico’s 100-year bonds, which are trading at a yield of 5.59 percent or 30-year U.S. Treasuries yielding 2.94 per cent.
When Bruce Jenner was born what was his Dad thinking?
Who names their kid with the initials BJ?
POS Cape.
I didn’t read the article, but I made that assumption. And it was a safe one. Believe me, I know how the majority works. When I refinanced my multi, for the first time, back in 2008 (I think that was the year), and went from a 30 down to a 20, my mortgage broker, who annually ranks in the top ten (not ten percent) by number of mortgages originated, said I was the first person that year to apply for a mortgage with a shorter term. Keep in mind, it was during the Autumn.
Nearly everyone I know (not an exaggeration), plays the run up the credit cards and roll the debt into a longer mortgage game. Meanwhile, nearly everyone I know drives a nicer car than me, lives in a more expensive house than me and spoils their children way more than I do. Yet, most probably make less than Gator and me. And they’ll be claiming bankruptcy while Gator and I never will. Heck, we have more liquid assets than our two homes are worth. Yet Pumpkin finds people like me a danger to our economy. Me thinks he needs to think again.
My thirteen year old excitedly sought me out yesterday evening saying, “Did you hear the news? Bruce Jenner has transitioned! She’s beautiful!”
The End Is Nigh (JJ Italian Gelato NSFW Edition): watch all the way to the end, it goes in a direction you likely would not expect…..
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxiM6xnv9s7NTHFvSkRQWWxwN0R2QWNyVXRwMUZiYWdwZzVj/edit?pli=1
Admittedly I’m not an economics student but in layman’s terms if I were to explain why we have rampant income inequality…
Imagine trickledown economics as a river flowing down the economic scale, the difference today compared to the 50’s, is that further up stream, they have gotten very adept at building dams (i.e. offshore accts) to slow the flow downstream. While at the same time there is more resistance (globalization, technology, lack of education) preventing the bottom from swimming upstream. The top and the bottom contributed to this issue.
Inequality is a way of life…choose your side wisely.
Just seems appropriate today
Team America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi8mTM-z9Oc
#90..Nearly everyone I know (not an exaggeration), plays the run up the credit cards and roll the debt into a longer mortgage game. Meanwhile, nearly everyone I know drives a nicer car than me, lives in a more expensive house than me and spoils their children way more than I do. Yet, most probably make less than Gator and me. And they’ll be claiming bankruptcy while Gator and I never will. Heck, we have more liquid assets than our two homes are worth. Yet Pumpkin finds people like me a danger to our economy. Me thinks he needs to think again…
truer words never spoken…..as I watch the FedEx driver up the block drive in his new RX330…the “Sign” Company owner has a X5 and 530 BMW….my 2001 Sienna still kicking….
Lib, worse, you are paying for their Disney trips and the other chattel purchased on those credit cards.
Through the sleight of hand the government blamed ‘banksters’ for the financial crisis. The endpoint of those bailout dollars reside, however, in the wanton spending by the financially irresponsible. They are now picking your savings to pay for the extravagances you decided to forego.
But it is a just and equitable outcome, and somehow good for Punkin’s economy. How did all that dissaving to spend in the boom years work out now, punkin?
What I’m implying is to not target income inequality but the things that cause it. Idiots will usually rally around higher taxes to reduce others net income… while we should be focused on repealing/reversing the things that cause it in the first place (and yes you’ve named some of them).
FKA 2010 Buyer says:
June 2, 2015 at 12:17 pm
Admittedly I’m not an economics student but in layman’s terms if I were to explain why we have rampant income inequality…
Imagine trickledown economics as a river flowing down the economic scale, the difference today compared to the 50’s, is that further up stream, they have gotten very adept at building dams (i.e. offshore accts) to slow the flow downstream. While at the same time there is more resistance (globalization, technology, lack of education) preventing the bottom from swimming upstream. The top and the bottom contributed to this issue.
Inequality is a way of life…choose your side wisely.
“Inequality is a way of life…choose your side wisely.”
Going to print, frame, and hang in my youngest’s room, lol.
At least everybody stayed classy.
If I can offer any advice in understanding what I’m saying, it’s not to go to extremes. Saving is important, but if everyone is just saving, the economy is done. You have to have balance. You have to have spenders and savers. There has to be a balance.
I could care less about someone being worth 50 billion. I only care when the inequality reaches a point where it actually hurts the economy by destroying growth. I understand some will be poor, and some will be rich, it’s capitalism. I just understand, like adam smith understood(Ill look for the quote and post), that the system is not perfect and was never meant to be perfect. Sometimes you have to step in and address the problem. Right now, income inequality has gotten so out of control (extremes) that it is hurting the economy. There is absolutely minimal growth and it’s due to income inequality( yes, joyce, income inequality is why the economy is stuck in a rut). If it’s not due to income inequality, then what is it?
“Nearly everyone I know (not an exaggeration), plays the run up the credit cards and roll the debt into a longer mortgage game. Meanwhile, nearly everyone I know drives a nicer car than me, lives in a more expensive house than me and spoils their children way more than I do. Yet, most probably make less than Gator and me. And they’ll be claiming bankruptcy while Gator and I never will. Heck, we have more liquid assets than our two homes are worth. Yet Pumpkin finds people like me a danger to our economy. Me thinks he needs to think again.”
“Americans have traditionally believed that the “invisible hand of the market” means that capitalism will benefit us all without requiring any oversight. However, as the New York Times notes, the real Adam Smith did not believe in a magically benevolent market which operates for the benefit of all without any checks and balances:
Smith railed against monopolies and the political influence that accompanies economic power …
Smith worried about the encroachment of government on economic activity, but his concerns were directed at least as much toward parish councils, church wardens, big corporations, guilds and religious institutions as to the national government; these institutions were part and parcel of 18th-century government…
Smith was sometimes tolerant of government intervention, ”especially when the object is to reduce poverty.” Smith passionately argued, ”When the regulation, therefore, is in support of the workman, it is always just and equitable; but it is sometimes otherwise when in favour of the masters.” He saw a tacit conspiracy on the part of employers ”always and everywhere” to keep wages as low as possible.”
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/07/adam-smith-would-neither-recognize-nor-approve-of-our-financial-monetary-economic-or-legal-systems.html
Wish some of you could understand why I rally around the worker, smith would understand based on this. Not jealous of the industry leaders at all. All I care about is fixing the economy. Too many poor in the economy with a few rich means the economic system is broken.
“Smith was sometimes tolerant of government intervention, ”especially when the object is to reduce poverty.” Smith passionately argued, ”When the regulation, therefore, is in support of the workman, it is always just and equitable; but it is sometimes otherwise when in favour of the masters.” He saw a tacit conspiracy on the part of employers ”always and everywhere” to keep wages as low as possible.””
“Paul Krugman pointed out:
Adam Smith … may have been the father of free-market economics, but he argued that bank regulation was as necessary as fire codes on urban buildings, and called for a ban on high-risk, high-interest lending, the 18th-century version of subprime.”
wow oil is back up around 62 bucks a barrel. So much for cheap gas and heating oil.
“And Damon Vrabel wrote:
It seems ridiculous to point this out, but sovereign debt implies sovereignty. Right? Well, if countries are sovereign, then how could they be required to be in debt to private banking institutions? How could they be so easily attacked by the likes of George Soros, JP Morgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs? Why would they be subjugated to the whims of auctions and traders?
A true sovereign is in debt to nobody and is not traded in the public markets. For example, how would George Soros attack, say, the British royal family? [Vrabel is presumably referring to Soros’ currency speculation against the British pound and other currencies.] It’s not possible. They are sovereign. Their stock isn’t traded on the NYSE. He can’t orchestrate a naked short sell strategy to destroy their credit and force them to restructure their assets. But he can do that to most of the other 6.7 billion people of the world by designing attack strategies against the companies they work for and the governments they depend on.
The fact is that most countries are not sovereign (the few that are are being attacked by [the big Western intelligence services] or the military). Instead they are administrative districts or customers of the global banking establishment whose power has grown steadily over time based on the math of the bond market, currently ruled by the US dollar, and the expansionary nature of fractional lending. Their cult of economists from places like Harvard, Chicago, and the London School have steadily eroded national sovereignty by forcing debt-based … currencies on countries.”
#90, I have done the same as you. I have lived way below my means. ALmost to the point of people laughing at me. However my husband and I both retired at age 50 and 48. Now that’s an accomplishment to do in NJ so young. SO I let them laugh!! Now its time to get out of hillbillyville NJ and move on to the next chapter of life for us. My father finally got over the initial shock of us wanting to move and House is on the market all set to leave NJ. Wonder if pumpkin thinks IM a danger too?
Yup
“Smith also knew that trust was a basic ingredient of a sound economy. As I noted in March:
In 1998, Paul Zak (Professor of Economics and Department Chair, as well as the founding Director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University, Professor of Neurology at Loma Linda University Medical Center, and a senior researcher at UCLA) and Stephen Knack (a Lead Economist in the World Bank’s Research Department and Public Sector Governance Department) wrote a paper called Trust and Growth, arguing:
Adam Smith … observed notable differences across nations in the ‘probity’ and ‘punctuality’ of their populations. For example, the Dutch ‘are the most faithful to their word.’John Stuart Mill wrote: ‘There are countries in Europe . . . where the most serious impediment to conducting business concerns on a large scale, is the rarity of persons who are supposed fit to be trusted with the receipt and expenditure of large sums of money’ (Mill, 1848, p. 132).
Enormous differences across countries in the propensity to trust others survive
today.
***
Trust is higher in ‘fair’ societies.
***
High trust societies produce more output than low trust societies. A fortiori, a sufficient amount of trust may be crucial to successful development. Douglass North (1990, p. 54) writes,
The inability of societies to develop effective, lowcost enforcement of contracts is the most important source of both historical stagnation and contemporary underdevelopment in the Third World.
***
If trust is too low in a society, savings will be insufficient to sustain
positive output growth. Such a poverty trap is more likely when institutions –
both formal and informal – which punish cheaters are weak.
Because strong enforcement of laws against fraud is a basic prerequisite for trust, I believe Smith would be disgusted by the lack of prosecution of Wall Street fraudsters today.
And Smith warned against the pitfalls of fiat currencies unpegged to anything real:
The problem with fiat money is that it rewards the minority that can handle money, but fools the generation that has worked and saved money.”
FIFA Prez just resigned..didn’t he just win re-election?
FIFA President Sepp Blatter Announces Resignation
FIFA President Sepp Blatter said on Tuesday he will step down as the head of the global governing body of soccer, in the wake of the disclosure last week of more than a dozen U.S. indictments against current and former FIFA officials.
Mr. Blatter, in a press conference in Zurich, said despite the poll, his re-election wasn’t embraced by many, and he said he would relinquish his role after an extraordinary congress of the organization.
I didn’t say saving is bad. I said that saving is bad if everyone is doing it. If everyone lived their life like lib, economy is finished. Most people won’t be able to find a job. Fortunately, not many live like Lib. So it’s fine for him to live like that, but if we go to extremes, and everyone decided to live like lib…..then we are screwed. Balance is key. How to maintain that balance is the big question?
Marilyn says:
June 2, 2015 at 1:01 pm
#90, I have done the same as you. I have lived way below my means. ALmost to the point of people laughing at me. However my husband and I both retired at age 50 and 48. Now that’s an accomplishment to do in NJ so young. SO I let them laugh!! Now its time to get out of hillbillyville NJ and move on to the next chapter of life for us. My father finally got over the initial shock of us wanting to move and House is on the market all set to leave NJ. Wonder if pumpkin thinks IM a danger too?
106 Pension or no pension? Govt employee or private?
Easy for a cop and teacher to retire at the ages you listed.
Nothing to see here, move along.
Today is National Gun Vilence Awareness Day!!!
Growing up, the only drill at school was lining up for a fire drill and growing outside. Today our kids are growing up at a time where schoools conduct active shooter drills.
“For more than a generation after World War II, corporations shared the benefits of productivity gains with workers, supporting demand, growth and social cohesion.
This willingness to reinvest in growth by keeping the middle class healthy is now seen in Corporate America as quaint altruism. Thomas Piketty, in his new book, “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” makes clear that the experience of postwar America (and the rest of the developed world) was a historical anomaly. The more persistent trend, he found, was a rise in inequality when the rate of return on capital — the major source of income for the wealthiest — exceeded the economy’s overall growth rate.
A threat Marx downplayed has accelerated the concentration of wealth among the very richest. As Michael Hudson has noted, Marx recognized the destructive potential of financial capitalism, but thought it was inconceivable that it would become dominant. He believed the industrialists would succeed in keeping the bankers in check. They have not.
As income disparity has widened enormously and class mobility has eroded, Marx’s idea of class warfare seems particularly apt. But as long as there is a sufficiently large remnant of the American middle class, still socialized to identify with the established order, no matter how beleaguered they are, it’s hard to see how any organized, large scale uprising could occur.”
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/03/30/was-marx-right/marx-foresaw-capitalisms-dangers-but-not-workers-response
Pumps,
Income inequality begins with grade inequality.
Simple solution: Give all students C’s.
Do you have kids? I could retire today easily if no kids. But I got three kids to get though college. And even if pay themselves, they are expensive just to keep in clothes, feed, medical bills, braces and do family parties for all their big life events.
To retire at 50 I would need ten million in bank plus a mortgage free house.
Marilyn says:
June 2, 2015 at 1:01 pm
#90, I have done the same as you. I have lived way below my means. ALmost to the point of people laughing at me. However my husband and I both retired at age 50 and 48. Now that’s an accomplishment to do in NJ so young. SO I let them laugh!! Now its time to get out of hillbillyville NJ and move on to the next chapter of life for us. My father finally got over the initial shock of us wanting to move and House is on the market all set to leave NJ. Wonder if pumpkin thinks IM a danger too?
Same here. Any kids? College expenses? Big or small house?
I guess I could have done the same. Life without kids or grandkids would seem quite depressing to me. I may as well retire AND commit suicide.
re: #115 – re: “Life without kids or grandkids would seem quite depressing to me”
I know of a few from my Generation X that have no kids. I have no clue what they do with their time other than Watch TV and stuff their faces. It is actually quite sad.
Michael,
1 – many people, including people you consider “poor”, would prefer if you leave them the fcuk alone.
2 – Krugman is a dipsh1t
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States
The worst disaster didn’t actually involve a firearm. A disgruntled man bombed a school over a property tax dispute.
Also, plenty of schools practice tornado drills, earthquake drills, and after world war II…fears of nuclear war prompted the “duck and cover” campaign.
FKA 2010 Buyer says:
June 2, 2015 at 1:28 pm
Nothing to see here, move along.
Today is National Gun Vilence Awareness Day!!!
Growing up, the only drill at school was lining up for a fire drill and growing outside. Today our kids are growing up at a time where schoools conduct active shooter drills.
Oil futures on Tuesday marked their highest settlement of the year, based on the most-active contracts. Prices got a boost from a weaker U.S. dollar as traders bet that weekly data will show a decline in U.S. crude inventories. July crude CLN5, +1.89% tacked on $1.06, or 1.8%, to settle at $61.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gas is headed back above 3 bucks a gallon at the pump, heating oil also.
GM had record Truck and SUV sales in April and May, June will be a big drop off.
What are you talking about, we had Nuclear Fall out Shelters and used to hide under our desks and line up against wall. The Nuclear bomb drill even as a six year old never understood point of it
Growing up, the only drill at school was lining up for a fire drill and growing outside. Today our kids are growing up at a time where schoools conduct active shooter drills.
114 , No kids. Yes that was a big reason why we could do it young. It would be impossible to do this with kids. Have enough money that I will never run out. Honestly I have a modest lifestyle, only taking 2.5 percent of my investments, still growing them its about 4.9 million. I also have a trust when my Dad dies another 1.5 million. SO why should we work. We both had crappy careers. Now I have got to get us on with life out of NJ! I could stay but I really don’t want too.
Savings is bad if everyone’s doing it?
Someone should take a look at global economic time series charts.
google “Singapore gdp per capita” and look at the chart that pops up for 1960 to 2013.
Then google “Singapore savings rate”
$5,000 gdp per capita in 1980, $55,000 lately.
Gross savings rate has been around 50%.
In fact, the government mandates a savings account. They also mandate that kids provide financially for parents, so the government won’t have to. (Not that I’m in favor of those mandates, but is an indication of the “financial responsibility” and “save for the future” mentality that Singapore encourages.)
Marilyn,
TMI
Pumpkin you would be happy to know that I give at least 10K away each year to my friends who need help. Actually last year it was 20K. So I am doing my part!! However I pick who I want my money going to , not who the government want me to give it too. ANother reason to leave NJ, no kids, no class A relatives. So subject to estate and inheritance tax. Now if I leave I can give it to who I want too!! That’s important. I have helped Paco enough w/ taxes!
Marilyn,
Good Luck. Remember though, no health, no wealth.
I don’t care if its TMI, no one believes me anyway. And im not happy. Im pretty miserable with or without money.
my life sucks. I don’t do anything exciting and don’t want to. In fact Im the most boring person I know. I spend my time reading, and weight lifting. That’s all I do. I hate to eat out, I don’t drink and I gave up being the female Charlie Sheen when I was 30.
Pumps, I defended you this morning and you went right ahead and proved them right. Tsk, tsk:
101. “Americans have traditionally believed that the “invisible hand of the market” means that capitalism will benefit us all without requiring any oversight.”
Americans are idiots. Smith’s hand can pat you on the butt for a job well done or b1tch slap you across the face if you make the wrong call. Free market. Your choice.
105. “It seems ridiculous to point this out, but sovereign debt implies sovereignty. Right? Well, if countries are sovereign, then how could they be required to be in debt to private banking institutions?… A true sovereign is in debt to nobody…”
Only if you print the exact currency you owe. Or feel like exiting from the global economic system for a decade or so.
109. “I didn’t say saving is bad. I said that saving is bad if everyone is doing it. If everyone lived their life like lib, economy is finished.”
No, you go back to what was normalcy for 200 years before spending with free money inflated the daylights out of all prices. Good homes in top neighborhoods cost $400k, vehicles are sub-$20k, and education is at $30k.
Inflation does not create wealth, it destroys it. The spending associated with 100% LTV on houses, $1T+ (yes, trillion) of student loans, and nine year (!) auto loans has wildly inflated prices on these items and diminished the middle class lifestyle. And your solution is to double down and hand the populace more money……..
And your right I lost my mom to cancer, sister dead at age 51 . Listen my life is not one big ball of excitement. I am living off cap gains and dividends so its about 149 K, the rest re invested in the roths. That’s not enough money to throw in the air sitting on the golden toilet. Its not that much today. Plus like I said IM miserable!! The only joy I get it weightlifting. ANd that’s cheap!
Gourd [109];
I have an idea: I live like Lib; you live like a tapped-out consumer. Everyone else can make up their own minds and I’m confident enough of them will chase immediate gratification and material wealth that you won’t have to confiscate my money to fund your utopian economic designs (like every other naive or mendacious leftist before you). Not that you won’t try, just that you won’t really need to.
my biggest problem is where to go. I want to set up a home base in another State. I have narrowed it down to Raleigh. I have looked at Northern Fl, Charleston, Scottsdale and Virginia. Honestly I am not the type to travel all over , I just want to find a new home , and a new base to warmer climate. Its been hard. Its scary to move to where you totally start over.
Where did John Gambling go??
Gambling? Lol try AM 970 weekdays from 11:00AM to 1:00PM.
Marlyn [132];
Where did John Gambling go??
http://am970theanswer.com/pages/JohnGambling
133, You just made my life a little better. I loved this guys show. Thank you so much! Now I have something new to listen too , in my boring beat life! HAHA!!
Turns out Caitlyn Jenner is a Lesbian, just be the first to sleep with her and you could pick up another 4.9 million in the tell all book.
Marilyn says:
June 2, 2015 at 2:52 pm
114 , No kids. Yes that was a big reason why we could do it young. It would be impossible to do this with kids. Have enough money that I will never run out. Honestly I have a modest lifestyle, only taking 2.5 percent of my investments, still growing them its about 4.9 million. I also have a trust when my Dad dies another 1.5 million. SO why should we work. We both had crappy careers. Now I have got to get us on with life out of NJ! I could stay but I really don’t want too.
I wonder if when Grim created this blog he ever contemplated what the daily commentariat would develop into? On any given day, I get some of the most insightful economic analysis, fine dining tips, $exual war stories, maniac boast-posts regarding personal wealth/frugality/children’s sport prowess etc., inter-comment fighting, tinyurl links to scary to click-thru, and even some real estate discussion.
Marilyn – I’ve found your recent emergence very humorous. I hope your posts are satire, they are too sad to imagine to be true.
hahhahahahaha
Ben Bernanke Says Stocks Aren’t Expensive
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/06/02/janet-who-ben-bernanke-says-stocks-arent-expensive/?mod=WSJBlog&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wsj%2Feconomics%2Ffeed+%28WSJ.com%3A+Real+Time+Economics+Blog%29
Grim in the UK?
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/driver-unleashes-rant-on-cyclist-in-uk-road-rage-incident-caught-on-video-2015-06-02?link=MW_home_latest_news
Why are you buying your kids anything? You loan them the money then charge them interest.
Jesus man, you’re getting soft.
JJ says:
June 2, 2015 at 1:56 pm
Do you have kids? I could retire today easily if no kids. But I got three kids to get though college. And even if pay themselves, they are expensive just to keep in clothes, feed, medical bills, braces and do family parties for all their big life events.
To retire at 50 I would need ten million in bank plus a mortgage free house.
[118] and [120]
Hmmm I almost feel slighted that we didn’t have those drills. I forgot about tornado and hurricane drills (FL).
Well the truth is I was a loser. I was one of these trust fund kids who basically could have been something but instead I turned into the female Charlie Sheen. I went to Seton Hall, graduated with a 3.9999 and was wasted everyday. I got sober around age 40 then worked but never lived up to my potential. The only good news for me was my investments that my father set up for me at age 16 grew and I was too wasted to notice them. When everyone else was going HGTV crazy and shopping I was getting wasted in a basement. It was actually cheaper than renovations and fancy cars. I was so paranoid that a 50 dollar bag of crack would keep me high for 8 hours. When I emerged from my moment of being saved by God, my investments grew to a staggering number. I have been sober since and live now a very simple life. I am not very social, never learned those skills, and basically its too late for me to have a career and my ambition is nill. Yes its kind of a sad story. But im honest and listen im sober, and anything is better than being a crackhead!
I re read some of my posts and let me clarify. I got semi sober at age 30 in other words, I was not smoking 250 dollars of crack a weekend. I got paranoid so a 50 dollar bag was about all I could handle every 3 – 5 days. No its all true. Look when things are handed to you too easy you have no ambition. My father was a big deal, he patented and perfected better ways to use polystyrene. He basically patented it with Dart and Kraft then went on to Mobil Exxon to teach the Saudi about plastic and oil. So I had good parents who basically did a lot for me. Now im sober 100 percent , spend my days in Waldwick Odyssey Gym lifting weights.
#140..maybe sharing your story can help others avoid a similar situation….
re: #141 – TMI please we prefer not to know.
Marilyn – Congratulations on your sobriety and recovery. I hope it continues
Last post but believe me, all your lives are much more fulfilling than mine. However I can say this if you ever needed any help, I would always help no questions asked with in reason. But money does not buy you really a good career, a fulfilling life, it does nothing but really make less motivated to be something. It makes you lazy when its handed to you. So don’t think its the end all to end all.
Marilyn – Congrats for wanting to change your life and doing something about it. I wish you continued success.
Thanks both of you. Yeah my last day that I got high I was smoking it in a walk in closet. The reason being there were no windows. SO I would emerge out of the closet wacked out of my skull. I went down my step to the downstairs floor and remember seeing my neighbor walking his dog. Well to me that was the K9 unit. I was so paranoid that I almost felt like I was going to have a heart attack. That was 9 years ago in May. I just quit , prayed and have been sober ever since with no urge. I guess it was a miracle. Thanks again.
Juice Box, I got you. Too late, but of course we did not need to know about this. So back to real estate. If you know of a great place to retire or if you could where would it be and why??
Be strong, stay sober. Was there with a loved one, seven years.
I know of the challenge, day by day. Wish you luck and, mostly, joy.
re: # 148 – The TMI was for your benefit, most people with any kind of money keep it to themselves. Stop leaving breadcrumbs there are plenty of people who see you only as a mark.
Marilyn – re 126,127 etc.
Every philosophy, religion, and psychological research has shown that the most happiness comes from giving.
2 choices.
1-Get yourself, a shrink and get some good antidepressants for life. Buy yourself a place in a gated community in the south. Spend your days listening to Rush Limbaugh, Faux and reading Ragnar’s posting, with replies having a variation of Oblamer, Obamaphone, O something.
OR
2- Do something for some one else.
I say go big. Pick a hillbilly southern state, where your actions will improve the IQ, with a meth problem preferably, Ragnar knows about these things – his thinking shows he came from it.
Get yourself a nice spread with some acreage. Call that new state’s Child Protective Agency and tell them that you would like to be a foster parent and take care of/adopt if needed a sibling/multiple sibling group of kids – figure less than 10, then go the the county pound and adopt a bunch of dogs. You probably have cats now, a lot, I presume.
Also be kind to neighbors and show it. Be the one that a family going through their own problem can come to you and leave their kids with you for a few weeks, and those kids will leave happier, with better clothes, fed better than when they arrived. Be the one they contact when their are hungry and you can take them food shopping and get them thru the stretch.
Enjoy life, while you are busy as hell now taking care of all these kids/animals and learning to hunt a deer with a 50mm gun, many people here can help you with it.
With money, comes responsibility. When those responsibilities are met, you’ll feel better and people will appreciate you for your actions.
My bad, my post talks about Meth, but I prepared it before your posts about your crackhead days.
Ahh, the 80’s and crackheads. As someone in public safety at that time, Crack is Wacked.
WOW! 151, I guess that put me back into reality. I honestly cant go to anymore hillbilly areas. Im in one in NJ. Actually Raleigh NC is less hillbilly then where I live in Oakridge NJ!! HAHA! I cant deal with hillbillies. But I see the humor of it all.
Juicebox, interesting that you say mark. I have no friends, no one likes me, not due to them knowing about my situation financially. Due to me having terrible social skills being a crack head from age 18 -40. I cant cope w/ crowds, too many people or really have a hard time relating or getting close to people. I am not social, I don’t go out only to the gym and whole foods then I come home read and cook.
SO im not an easy mark trust me. People dislike me!!
151 you know im still laughing!
wow I have not fooled around with a crack head since the early 90s. Sounds enticing.
“Look when things are handed to you too easy you have no ambition.”
Marilyn. You just defined the problem with welfare. It’s really something to witness how giving someone a livelihood without making them work for it drives one to do value the wrong things. I saw the same thing with my rich b1tch campers. Man, their morals were flawed. The superiority complexes shown by them due to equating wealth (of which they had no part in creating) with one’s social standing was disturbing. I’ve said this before here. Wealth and intelligence rarely coincide.
Leftwing, this is a great write up. I esp like your points about inflation. Maybe you and the rags of the world are right… The answer lies in limiting govt, getting rid of the fed, and letting basic fundamental economics be the guiding hand.
Economics based on fiat currencies has become so complex that it is becoming impossible to understand what is going on. So many factors at play that solving economic problems becomes a game of throwing darts to come up with answers that just leads to more problems.
I don’t care if it takes me 30 years. I will continue to try and keep learning as much as I can about this field. I spend at least an hour a day reading about economics. No idea why, but for some reason I’m cursed with this attraction to economics. I bounce between extremes (sometimes it’s the Austrian and classical school of economics and then it’s (where I’m at right now) new kenyesian School). I haven’t been on the conservative side
leftwing says:
June 2, 2015 at 2:58 pm
Pumps, I defended you this morning and you went right ahead and proved them right. Tsk, tsk:
101. “Americans have traditionally believed that the “invisible hand of the market” means that capitalism will benefit us all without requiring any oversight.”
Americans are idiots. Smith’s hand can pat you on the butt for a job well done or b1tch slap you across the face if you make the wrong call. Free market. Your choice.
105. “It seems ridiculous to point this out, but sovereign debt implies sovereignty. Right? Well, if countries are sovereign, then how could they be required to be in debt to private banking institutions?… A true sovereign is in debt to nobody…”
Only if you print the exact currency you owe. Or feel like exiting from the global economic system for a decade or so.
109. “I didn’t say saving is bad. I said that saving is bad if everyone is doing it. If everyone lived their life like lib, economy is finished.”
No, you go back to what was normalcy for 200 years before spending with free money inflated the daylights out of all prices. Good homes in top neighborhoods cost $400k, vehicles are sub-$20k, and education is at $30k.
Inflation does not create wealth, it destroys it. The spending associated with 100% LTV on houses, $1T+ (yes, trillion) of student loans, and nine year (!) auto loans has wildly inflated prices on these items and diminished the middle class lifestyle. And your solution is to double down and hand the populace more money……..
Plump.
I studied economics in my undergrad. I had two very influential economics professors who were absolutely fantastic at teaching economic theories in very entertaining ways. One was named Baytas and the other Harry Flint. Both were complete freaks and smartly steered me away from an economics major. Their justification? I had too much common sense to end up as an economics professor, the most common end game for an economics major. At some point, every school is, was or will be correct. If macro-economics were predictable, we’d all be rich. Trust me when I say this…every single time the government tries to correct the free market, it actually does more damage than help. I know I’m in the minority on this opinion, but the government should not have bailed out Wall Street. Even if it will all be paid back. The short-term pain for all would have been much worse, but the long term repercussions would have been positive. A lot would have been done to help with today’s income inequality. Instead, we made too big to fail even bigger. And we rewarded knowingly abhorrent behavior. Though the IBs and their ilk were pretty smart. They knew their years of lobbying would pay off. JJ knew this too. The rest of us are simply suckers.
sad part is I was smart. I could have really had a nice career. IT just came too easy. I equate my life to like a bad lifetime movie. One of these little rich girls who basically become losers then its too late to go back. I would have like it to be more of a sundance type instead its a tragic bad c rates lifetime movie !
As for what to do to spur economic growth, a good quote from my favorite novel is “get the hell out of my way”.
For a more academic treatment of that theme, here’s an article from the publishers of the Index of Economic Freedom:
http://www.heritage.org/index/book/chapter-3
They interestingly compare and contrast neighboring countries, policies vs economic outcomes: Taiwan vs China, Argentina vs Chile, Estonia vs Ukraine, Botswana vs Zimbabwe
157- I haven’t been on the conservative side for a consistent amount of time since 2009. A lot of people around me growing up pushed the conservative economic thought down my throat. When 2008 came around and the economy crashed, I became angry with what was happening with America. I began to search for answers and it led me to these new economic schools. Obviously, they claimed conservative economics had it wrong and that govt intervention was necessary at times.
With that said, I’m still open to Joyce and rags being dead right about the answer being too much govt. i have no problem being totally wrong. I seriously just want to know the “right” answer to the age old economics question.
Libturd,
Absolutely right they shouldn’t have bailed out Wall St.
But fairly predictable when you have central planners running the financial system.
What was really surprising was that they didn’t hold more mock trials to make it look like they were “holding people accountable”.
I suspect that far more bankers and Wall St. types went to jail under Reagan than under the “middle class hero” Obama. Much of it due to Giuliani’s political ambitions, but still, Obama’s barely even pretending to care outside of his tired speeches to his base.
162, I’m not as extreme. The bailout should have been far more punitive to the players involved. No bailout is akin to quitting heroin cold turkey… the junkie dies, punishing the actors should have been effective enough.
I have new found respect for you. Thank you for your complete honesty. I am also happy for you that you were able to conquer your addiction. Btw, your life is only beginning, don’t write your life off as boring yet, still plenty of life left in you. Great things to come.
Marilyn says:
June 2, 2015 at 5:15 pm
sad part is I was smart. I could have really had a nice career. IT just came too easy. I equate my life to like a bad lifetime movie. One of these little rich girls who basically become losers then its too late to go back. I would have like it to be more of a sundance type instead its a tragic bad c rates lifetime movie !
I didn’t understand what you meant by female version of Charlie sheen. Now I get it.
Marilyn
Retirement: Need to develop some desires first. Where are you on each preference? Urban/rural. Warm/cold. Flyover/coasts, east or west. Is a body of water important to you, ocean/fresh. Sporting opportunities, which ones? Other?
Everyone is different, you happily have much more flexibility than most. I’ve basically researched the entire eastern seaboard, Maine to Key West. I like the water, ocean in particular. I want some vibrancy and social opportunity, but at arm’s length. I like land and space. I want proximity to a major city. I like seasons and actually like the activity of a seasonal crowd, but not Belmar/Seaside crazy. Wouldn’t mind a place where I could purchase a business and run it, retirement type, and be part of the community. Proximity to a solid university is a plus. Any type of sport is good as long as there is the opportunity. I wouldn’t move to flyover land.
Parts of the Chesapeake seem to fit for me. Some other areas. If I give up certain of the criteria other areas open up. No ocean/major city parts of Lake George/Champlain, particularly the VT side. Maybe some of the lesser islands of VA/GA.
Explore. It’s fun.
Thank you, sir. You really put things in perspective. You have no idea how much this means to me. Seriously, you would have made a great teacher. Your kids are fortunate even if they might not realize it. You are a walking book of knowledge.
Libturd at home says:
June 2, 2015 at 5:14 pm
Plump.
I studied economics in my undergrad. I had two very influential economics professors who were absolutely fantastic at teaching economic theories in very entertaining ways. One was named Baytas and the other Harry Flint. Both were complete freaks and smartly steered me away from an economics major. Their justification? I had too much common sense to end up as an economics professor, the most common end game for an economics major. At some point, every school is, was or will be correct. If macro-economics were predictable, we’d all be rich. Trust me when I say this…every single time the government tries to correct the free market, it actually does more damage than help. I know I’m in the minority on this opinion, but the government should not have bailed out Wall Street. Even if it will all be paid back. The short-term pain for all would have been much worse, but the long term repercussions would have been positive. A lot would have been done to help with today’s income inequality. Instead, we made too big to fail even bigger. And we rewarded knowingly abhorrent behavior. Though the IBs and their ilk were pretty smart. They knew their years of lobbying would pay off. JJ knew this too. The rest of us are simply suckers.
“I know I’m in the minority on this opinion, but the government should not have bailed out Wall Street. ”
Lib
Totally agree. I’m afraid once all this washes out the next generation will be studying the fiasco of the bailouts alongside other epic blunders like Smoot-Hawley.
I wonder if banks should have foreclosed on homes and flooded the market instead of allowing people to stay in their homes. Although the flip side is that if you are one of the people that did the right thing and put down 20% and current on your mortgage, it wouldn’t make you feel good seeing your property value drop.
[158] Libturd
I know I’m in the minority on this opinion, but the government should not have bailed out Wall Street. Even if it will all be paid back. The short-term pain for all would have been much worse, but the long term repercussions would have been positive.
On the Street, Bear Stearns got their heart beating fast but Lehman felt like heart palpitations. Bailing out the banks was like taking an aspirin. How is the bailing out any different from pulling equity out of your house (or dipping into your savings) to get you through hard times?
I talk to people every day in my job…….really find something that is interesting to you…..once you figure out what you prefer, it can really narrow down where you will want to live……to try it backwards is a little bit of a waste of time…..that being said, maybe you feel as if there are many wasted years, but FWIW, you probably have a solid 30 years ahead of you…..you have plenty of time to figure it out……for lack of a better idea, maybe you should take some sessions with a therapist….not because you need help, but rather that it will force you to talk, and it may be surprising helpful the stuff that comes out of your mouth when you have a prompting from another person………
Marilyn says:
June 2, 2015 at 5:15 pm
sad part is I was smart. I could have really had a nice career. IT just came too easy. I equate my life to like a bad lifetime movie. One of these little rich girls who basically become losers then its too late to go back. I would have like it to be more of a sundance type instead its a tragic bad c rates lifetime movie !
Then there is the current hysteria which claims that people in the famous “top 1 percent” have incomes that are rising sharply and absorbing a wholly disproportionate share of all the income in the country. But check out a Treasury Department study titled “Income Mobility in the U.S. from 1996 to 2005.” It uses income-tax data, showing that people who were in the top 1 percent in 1996 had their incomes fall — repeat, fall — by 26 percent by 2005. What about the other studies that seem to say the opposite? Those are studies of income brackets, not studies of the flesh-and-blood human beings who are moving from one bracket to another over time. More than half the people who were in the top 1 percent in 1996 were no longer there in 2005. This is hardly surprising when you consider that their incomes were going down, and yet there was widespread hysteria over the belief that their incomes were going up. Empirical studies that follow income brackets over time repeatedly reach opposite conclusions from studies that follow individuals. But people in the media, in politics, and even in academia, cite statistics about income brackets as if they were discussing what happens to actual human beings over time. All too often when liberals cite statistics, they forget the statisticians’ warning that correlation is not causation. For example the New York Times crusaded for government-provided prenatal care, citing the fact that black mothers were less likely to have prenatal care than white mothers — and that there were higher rates of infant mortality among blacks. But was correlation causation? American women of Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino ancestry also had less prenatal care than whites — and lower rates of infant mortality than either blacks or whites. When statistics showed that black applicants for conventional mortgage loans were turned down at twice the rate for white applicants, the media went ballistic crying racial discrimination. But whites were turned down almost twice as often as Asian Americans — and no one thinks that is racial discrimination. Facts are not liberals’ strong suit. Rhetoric is. — Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. © 2014 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/368952/inequality-fallacies-thomas-sowell
What do you mean?
FKA 2010 Buyer says:
June 2, 2015 at 6:10 pm
How is the bailing out any different from pulling equity out of your house (or dipping into your savings) to get you through hard times?
The character of the people that participate on this board really showed today. Someone came out with a personal story with elements that could have been used as ammo to attack their character. Not one individual went this route. Instead people showed total support and gave sound advice. Good people.
Hey Marilyn. If you have any rock left over…send it to Plumpy. :P
I agree Pumpkin! Smart board, good people. Makes me want to stay in NJ!
166 I have really thought about all these things. I am narrowing it down. HOnestly I think IM a perfect fit for Raleigh NC. I like educated people, libraries, a good gym, an organic store and some trees with 4 seasons mild winters. I love the vibe of growth and alive. I don’t want deadsville. Thanks I am leaving for a whole week, rented a house there and am going to live like a local!