patrick.net

Well somebody has got to pay Jimmy Buffet for building a Margaritaville on the Broadwalk.
He isn't getting that kind of traffic to that White Elephant on the beach.
But for the few extra tourist he might attract, we're all paying an $20 or two this year extra in property taxes.

Yeah up here in the frozen tundra, rentals and house prices have gone up. After this last storm , I am seriously done with cold and am looking to move to warmer climes for good. I have a very nice house on an almost acre lot in a very nice neighborhood. Of course for the price I bought it, you couldn't buy a condo in CA, but at least I will break even or maybe make a small profit -a little after one year of owning it. Which is unheard of in this area-folks are even getting multiple offers!!!

Which makes me think this is a bubble-no major jobs uptick here, old folks leaving to FL or Phoenix and cooped up inside for a few months a year-I am wondering if it is a tide lifts all boats situations. There is something to be said about being able to be outdoors for 12 months!

just keep it simple. at least in desirable sections of california - population continues to grow, jobs continue to be added, supply continues to be limited both for rental units and for owner-occupied. we're talking around 3 months or less, depending on the type and the area. not sure vacancy is measured the same way houses are, but you get the point: it's a seller's and a landlord's market.

so maybe there's some manipulation of supply, who knows. perhaps the banks are very slow to work through defaults. perhaps NIMBY and eco-terrorists are really preventing new construction (they definitely try their hardest, that's for sure). perhaps builders are scrambling to catch up on multi-family structures.

but if things remain the way they are now, the only factor that could change the wind is jobs. however, we are talking about medicine/health, biotech/pharma, high-tech/web, law, dentistry/ortho, aerospace/defense, property/mortgages, investments/finance, architecture/engineering, university/research, civil service, business management, consulting, etc. take one man from one of these industries and take one woman from one of these industries, marry them up, and you get a very clear picture of income needed to own enough debt to buy a house or to cover high rents.

of all the "bubbles" and "threats" people discuss these days, ranging from terrorism to housing to climate change - the real issue we are facing is how to deal with all the poor people (those that the global economy and technological advancements have left behind).

FortWayne says:" When really stupid people are in charge, that's what happens."

Anyone know how these stupids get into office?

landtof says

of all the "bubbles" and "threats" people discuss these days, ranging from terrorism to housing to climate change - the real issue we are facing is how to deal with all the poor people (those that the global economy and technological advancements have left behind).

They have opportunities, welfare and cell phones. Nothing more can be done.

just a few thoughts - the prisons are full and expensive, the government support is costly and unproductive (actually counterproductive and self-perpetuating), the "affordable healthcare" is also costly and potentially not as effective as advertised... but in this context, the hidden cost of poor people is also in the land and neighborhoods they inhabit. they are otherwise taking away safe places for more productive people to live without absorbing the higher cost of a tight supply within desirable areas.

this is the real story behind the decimation of the middle class - their once decent neighborhoods are now crime ridden and their schools are now holding facilities for all kinds of shitty kids. it's not that these places were ever the greatest, but they were at least acceptable.

most of this issue is economic. looking to the old days of manufacturing, skilled labor and trades, apprenticeships and the like won't solve the problem. the modern economy cannot move into reverse and turn back time. this is a very challenging issue - what to do with all of these people besides subsidize a bare bones lifestyle?

landtof says

what to do with all of these people besides subsidize a bare bones lifestyle?

You can never fix all the poor, that's impossible in a capitalist economy. Since any subsidy will just increase price to price out the poor for their entire pay check. And socialism, I don't think anyone would want to live in that nightmare, considering North Korea is a flourishing example of that.

FortWayne says

landtof says

what to do with all of these people besides subsidize a bare bones lifestyle?

You can never fix all the poor, that's impossible in a capitalist economy. Since any subsidy will just increase price to price out the poor for their entire pay check. And socialism, I don't think anyone would want to live in that nightmare, considering North Korea is a flourishing example of that.

Venezuela too. They did a great job with equality, by making everyone poor. How come we never thought of a stupid idea like that?

there is too high an importance placed on education. not everyone is entitled to a bachelor's and/or a master's degree in "administrative nothingness and informationistics technological new-media uselessness"

in terms of production, humans are a source of energy - and combined in large numbers can replace the use of other energy sources for similar tasks. the higher the cost of fossil fuels (both extraction and by-product cleansing i.e. emissions control), the better the case becomes for example to just have people deliver amazon packages with their own 2 feet. 100 people could pull/push a large vehicle around (50 on either side). tens of thousands could row a large shipping vessel across water. there could be TV's and Xbox screens and all they would have to do is pedal.