patrick.net

mell says

It's most useful to compare it against the 2nd most important currency, the Euro

http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c0003.html

indicates that we need more competitive dollar vs the euro, not uncompetitive.

mmmarvel says

Easy way to accomplish this objective.

MOVE.

Gotta have money + job lined up to do this. Getting either of those is real hard right now and will only get harder as various costs of living continue to rise as wages stagnate or fall.

"Try harder" (aka BOOTSTRAPS) isn't a reasonable option in such a economic environment either since the combo of reduced/stagnated wages + low to no job growth reduces or even eliminates opportunity. But then the US has had reduced opportunity for quite a while, our GINI index is still falling and is approaching EU 'stagnant' levels, and no one seems to notice.

Call it Crazy says

Move to New Jersey.... We have propane!!!

Move to Texas ... we have, um ... guns. Yeah, guns and hot weather and low prices on the houses.

Speaking of a competitive dollar, folks in Tennessee continue to try and beat back the Eurosocialist invasion.
Three anti-union Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) workers have sued the German automaker and the United Auto Workers in U.S. court, alleging that they improperly colluded in the run-up to a union election in Tennessee that the UAW lost.
I still can't get my head around this...

Realtor's are dickless wonders.

zzyzzx says

APOCALYPSEFUCKisShostikovitch says

Is this not a reasonable approach to our REALTOR problem?

What do you propose we do with the female realtors?

You teach them a lesson.
This is how it sounds like (turn up audio)

http://www.youtube.com/embed/S2gNHW6PzWk

No even in Texas there aren't a lot of jobs. What jobs there are usually have crap pay, just like everywhere else.

Despite all the propaganda about Texas as some sort of economic miracle the reality is quite different.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/march_april_may_2014/features/oops_the_texas_miracle_that_is049289.php?page=all

mmmarvel says

Call it Crazy says

Move to New Jersey.... We have propane!!!

Move to Texas ... we have, um ... guns. Yeah, guns and hot weather and low prices on the houses.

Thanks for the tempting offer but I hate sweating. I want my $235k dream house house to be in the real bay area so I don't have to sweat or get rained on.

Strategist says

Call it Crazy says

Strategist says

His severed penis should be stuffed down his own throat and made to swallow.

Are you talking about your Motel 6 adventures again???

The only penis I ever touch is my own.

Any woman I touch has to be rated a "9" or else I'm not interested.

Five beers plus a "4" equals a "9"

tts says

No even in Texas there aren't a lot of jobs. What jobs there are usually have
crap pay, just like everywhere else.

Despite all the propaganda about Texas as some sort of economic miracle the
reality is quite different.

Thank you very much for this.

I have personal experience in the Texas job market exactly as you have stated.

For the lurkers:

Late 2004, when many were calling this website all sorts of names such as a hoax, stupid, dumbass, ignorant, etc.

"That Real Estate could never go down."
"Buy Now or Forever be Priced Out"

After being upside down for 10 years after the Northridge earthquake, I sold my condo in the armpit of the San Fernando Valley.

To make a long story short, I wanted to pay cash for a property. Hmm, bubble, bubble, bubble everywhere,
except Texas..

At the time, I did not see how I could fail. Even if I did not like it there, I can work, save money, and move on.

All I needed was a job.

Again, cutting short, a six month contract here, a two month contract there, contracts in other states, this is not what I planned for or expected.

It would be easy for me to go negative regarding some of the interviews I had, they were unique to Texas.
"You don't know what is on page 72 of the blah blah manual?" "No, but I will be happy to look it up quickly, etc.."
Literal knee slapping, "He doesn't know what is on page 72!"

I believe I was 'filler' interview. They already knew who they were going to hire. They just needed a body/victim for another slot.

As for the subject of the thread, I still have that property in Texas I could sell if I want too. I am preapproved for a loan. I have the 10% downpayment.

I have come to the conclusion I just really don't want to buy right now. A few properties are cute. Is just because it is available in this low inventory reason enough to purchase if I am not thrilled? Maybe it is just me, but how is 'unsustainable bubble price' (2005) = 'real estate recovery value' (2014)? My 10% down can buy a lot of airline tickets and hotel rooms.

Just booked a Fourth of July getaway in Manhattan.

Woo Hoo!

Call it Crazy says

You're going to visit jojo???

If you mean this restaurant:

http://www.jojorestaurantnyc.com/

Certainly looks like an excellent high end choice for dining.

I am excited already.

Absolutely love long weekends in New York City, a broadway show, good food, fine dine or not, museums, entertainment, and I can say I have friends in 2 boroughs!

WOW! The UNtrustworthy are certainly in control of what information is apparent to the people!

Say hey! This was in the Wall Street Journal on March 30, 1999. Note "... how much it will buy."

Holy cow/interesting/compelling ...!

And where is it up to date??? Right here ... see the first chart shown in this thread.
Recent Dow day is Friday, March 14, 2014 __ Level is 102.5

WOW! It is hideous that this is hidden! Is there any such "Homes, Inflation Adjusted"? Yes! This was in the New York Times on August 27, 2006:

And up to date (by me) is here:
http://patrick.net/?p=1219038&c=999083#comment-999083

WOW! The UNtrustworthy are certainly in control of what information is apparent to the people!

And http://patrick.net/?p=1230886

Call it Crazy says

No, this jojo.... He lives in Manhattan

Ok, I'll put behind me a couple of my buddy email requests went unanswered. ha ha

If he wants, I would be happy to meet JoJo the Fourth of July weekend in Manhattan.

Certainly could find a public place for a coffee and a bagel.
Everything with cream cheese.

Call it Crazy says

You need to CREATE a job, then your problems will be solved...

You need lots of money + luck to create your own job though.

And that is in a good economy. Even then most fail.

Our economy isn't good and hasn't been for a long while now so talk of creating your own job is so grossly unrealistic as to be borderline insulting.

Its like telling a starving man in a desert to just go get some more food if he is hungry.

That's exactly what spam email filters were invented for....

So snazzy resum- I mean flyer + bugging the shit out some execs via email will 'Create' you your job?

I hope you're just trolling cuz' if you're not then that means you're hopelessly out of touch with reality.

Both because it'd mean you think no one has thought of that idea before + because those execs are just gonna delete those emails if they don't already have them spam blocked. These people have HR dept. for a reason and so do not want to do deal with hiring anyone much less desperate people.

Call it Crazy says

New Renter says

That's exactly what spam email filters were invented for....

Which is why you'll always be a wage slave renter...

So begging for a non existant wage paying job is somehow better than applying for a known need of the company? You really think executives will not just automatically delete the unsolicited resume but actually read it rather than sending it to the HR incinerator? That such a resume isn't treated with the same distain as advertisments for all "natutal penis enlargement" products and "hot horny housewives that want to hook up" with your fat aged balding ass?

Well I'll just Call that Crazy!

Call it Crazy says

This is what I meant when I said to "Create" your new job.....

What you're saying is......do something different, be persistent, never give up.
Yes, it works. Good advice.

New Renter says

Call it Crazy says

New Renter says

That's exactly what spam email filters were invented for....

Which is why you'll always be a wage slave renter...

So begging for a non existant wage paying job is somehow better than applying for a known need of the company? You really think executives will not just automatically delete the unsolicited resume but actually read it rather than sending it to the HR incinerator? That such a resume isn't treated with the same distain as advertisments for all "natutal penis enlargement" products and "hot horny housewives that want to hook up" with your fat aged balding ass?

Well I'll just Call that Crazy!

Wrong attitude. Think outside the box.

But its not different. Or thinking outside the box.

Lots of people do that and have for years. There is even a small cottage industry of people who will even make your 'flyer' for you for starting around $50-75.

The comparison to penis enlargement ads is apt since those sort of emails are treated exactly the same: they aren't even looked at, just sent to the trash folder. To the best of my knowledge that has been true since at least 2002 when I first of heard of this sort of thing.

But the idea of bypassing HR and sending your resume or a letter to an exec is nothing new at all and has been around for decades at a minimum. Generally those execs don't like it either.

The most you can expect is a terse, 'contact HR and stop bugging me' response. Usually they won't even send you that but they will remember to not hire you if your resume gets forwarded from HR. Why? They want people, even the creative idea people, who follow the rules and established social structures.

You can think outside the box all you want, you just better not try and actually go outside the box.

tts says

But its not different. Or thinking outside the box.

Lots of people do that and have for years. There is even a small cottage industry of people who will even make your 'flyer' for you for starting around $50-75.

The comparison to penis enlargement ads is apt since those sort of emails are treated exactly the same: they aren't even looked at, just sent to the trash folder. To the best of my knowledge that has been true since at least 2002 when I first of heard of this sort of thing.

But the idea of bypassing HR and sending your resume or a letter to an exec is nothing new at all and has been around for decades at a minimum.

You seem very discouraged and appear to have quit even before you began.
It's not gonna help you. You are setting yourself up to fail.
I'm not trying to be mean, just giving some constructive criticism.
Try motivational audios. Lots on Youtube.

See if someone gives you reasons why there is a problem with a given idea or situation then you can't claim they're setting themselves up to fail or have self motivational issues.

Because, you know, there is a problem there.

Also even if you say you're not trying to be mean you're still going to come across as at least mildly insulting since you're, you know, ignoring the problem brought up and instead saying, "no the problem is you" which is actually pretty difficult to do without knowing someone extensively IRL.

Call it Crazy says

Yep, they both have poor attitudes and they wonder why they can't FIND a job

I have a job. I have also been out of work in the last 2 years and also have empathy for my fellow man in what is, well known to be too, a pretty bad economy for the non rich.

Interesting how you know all the sudden how the people disagreeing with you, who you don't actually know at all, don't have jobs. That is some pretty amazing intuition you've got.

Call it Crazy says

I've used it in the past, all my kids used it, and other people I've told all used it to get the jobs they wanted....

Of the several different employers I've worked for over the years, big and small, all claimed to have gotten numerous of such emails. None of them, not even the small guys I worked for, cared or were impressed with them. All of them deleted them with hardly a glance.

tts says

See if someone gives you reasons why there is a problem with a given idea or situation then you can't claim they're setting themselves up to fail or have self motivational issues.

Because, you know, there is a problem there.

Also even if you say you're not trying to be mean you're still going to come across as at least mildly insulting since you're, you know, ignoring the problem brought up and instead saying, "no the problem is you" which is actually pretty difficult to do without knowing someone extensively IRL.

I apologize. That was not my intent.

I will add that if you cannot see that what you are talking about (MEWs) was not caused by what I'm talking about then you have a perfunctory understanding of the subject.

Call it Crazy says

An employer wants to know what you'll do for THEM and how you'll benefit the company.

A flashy flyer doesn't convey that sort of information any better than a resume typed up in notepad. Which BTW was how I wrote up and sent in my resume to my current job that hired me. Employers know this which is why they delete the flyers on glance: they're most always all flash and no bang from people who try and be 'different' and 'think outside the box' and think they're a genius because they bypassed HR.

What gets you hired these days is [1]if you know someone who works there or [2]work experience and finally [3]how well you interview. Mostly [1] and [2] really. Employers and HR know good and well there are a lot of people who are able to fake things very well during an interview but fall apart in a actual work place.

Strategist says

Call it Crazy says

Strategist says

Call it Crazy says

Strategist says

Move down to beautiful Orange County. Lower prices, better weather, and lots of jobs.

Move to New Jersey.... We have propane!!!

So can I have the house you regretted buying? I'm willing to rent it back to you.

It's an offer you cannot refuse.

Sure, As long as you come and clean the pool each week....

You have a pool? That will be an extra $100 per month in rent.

Life is good.

Life is good for the renter, since there is no way you can service and maintain a pool for $100/month.

Those charts have more heads than shoulders!

Ah, yes, the comparison of a man aged by the murder of his child (plus the actual years between that picture and his death and a less than flattering photo) with a more than likely touched up family portrait. Congratulations on desperately grasping straws.

bgamall4 says

bgamall4 says

Ah, yes, the comparison of a man aged by the murder of his child

I am not convinced by that argument at all. These are clearly photos of a man at very different age points. I think it is obvious.

So I take it you've never heard of people having their portrait taken and the photographer digitally removing blemishes/smoothing out wrinkles/etc... to improve the appearance of the person. You've just picked one picture. What about these?

Do you understand now how your picture is not evidence at all? It is just a classic example of what you do all the time - deliberately mislead.

So come on Gary, please explain how he looks around about the same age in all three of those photos (I could post up many more), and most certainly not the 15 year age difference you like to claim.

Bigsby says

Ah, yes, the comparison of a man aged by the murder of his child (plus the actual years between that picture and his death and a less than flattering photo) with a more than likely touched up family portrait. Congratulations on desperately grasping straws.

If someone wanted to convince millions of people of something, they would go above and beyond to hide their crime. That's our government.

Bgamall4 is just one of those people who questions government and occasionally catches them when something doesn't make sense in the story they've conjured up for the public consumption.

tts says

Gotta have money + job lined up to do this. Getting either of those is real hard
right now

Not in Texas. If you can't find a job in Texas, either you ain't trying hard enough or there is something seriously wrong with you.

You seriously need help. If the sun is overhead, it would give a shadow like in the picture. Find a new hobby. Take up volunteering. Something to occupy your mind beyond this nonsense.

bgamall4 says

tatupu70 says

If the sun is overhead, it would give a shadow like in the picture.

Wrong.

No, it's correct.

David9 says

To make a long story short, I wanted to pay cash for a property. Hmm, bubble, bubble, bubble everywhere,

except Texas..

At the time, I did not see how I could fail. Even if I did not like it there, I can work, save money, and move on.

All I needed was a job.

Again, cutting short, a six month contract here, a two month contract there, contracts in other states, this is not what I planned for or expected.

I could FIND you a job in Texas. Hell, I can find almost anyone a job in Texas. You (generic you) might complain, well it doesn't pay enough - it does for Texas. Well, I don't like/don't want to live in (name of city in Texas) - it's not that there isn't employment, it's that you don't want it. You might complain about the weather - well how's the drought in CA treating you? No, Texas has LOTS of jobs.

tts says

No even in Texas there aren't a lot of jobs. What jobs there are usually have crap pay, just like everywhere else.

Despite all the propaganda about Texas as some sort of economic miracle the reality is quite different.

Again, as I said in the posting above. I can find you a job in Texas and for more than minimum wage (hopefully you have a real good skill set and I would have an easier time finding you a job). Is Texas different? Texas is Texas and proud of it. I can still find a house for under $100K, can you? If you want to go between $100K - $200K, it will be a really, really nice house and not some crackerbox 1200 square footer either. Finding a job down here is pretty easy, assuming your not an ex-con, drug addict or sex offender and even a few of them are finding work. But when people start with the 'but I don't want to live there', then it's not the work that's lacking, it's your will to go where the work is.

Call it Crazy says

evilmonkeyboy says

Life is good for the renter, since there is no way you can service and maintain a pool for $100/month.

True, because I was spending $80/month for my dad's pool...

He wants to rip me off for $20 bucks....

Yeah, you're right, it's pathetic.
Let's make it $200.

The problem isn't a lack of jobs, anyone can find a job...as an unpaid intern or a volunteer. Oh, you want to be compensated for your labor? Think outside the box and sell oranges on the streetcorner. Need more? OK you greedy fuck try sending flyers to the C level execs of your favorite companies with a picture of yourself in a wedding dress and a very explicit offer. 9999 out of 10,000 will take out a restraining order on you but you only need one "interview" right?

tts says

Despite all the propaganda about Texas as some sort of economic miracle the reality is quite different.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/march_april_may_2014/features/oops_the_texas_miracle_that_is049289.php?page=all

My goodness, from the article you linked to -

"Texas’s comparatively rapid rate of job creation. Over the last twenty-three years, the number of jobs has increased twice as fast in Texas as it has in the rest of the country. Many people might imagine that most of those new jobs pay low wages, but that turns out not to be true. To be sure, Texas has more minimum-wage jobs than any other state, and only Mississippi exceeds it with the most minimum-wage workers per capita.

But Fisher is talking here about new jobs, and according to the Dallas Fed, only 28 percent of the jobs created in or relocated to Texas since 2001 pay in the lowest quarter of the nation’s wage distribution. By comparison, jobs paying in the top half account for about 45 percent of the new jobs in Texas.

This means that Texas has been creating or attracting middle- and high-wage jobs at a far faster pace than the rest of the country taken as whole. For example, between 2001 and 2012, the number of Texas jobs in the upper-middle quarter of the nation’s wage distribution increased by 25.6 percent. This compares with a 4.1 percent decline in the number of such jobs outside of Texas. Though coming off a comparatively small base, Texas has also outperformed the rest of the country in its growth of high-paying jobs."

The rest of the article tries (and in my opinion fails) to smear Texas, but for the most part they spin things to achieve a negative effect. It's a poor article written with the object of tearing down Texas, but they don't do a very good job of it. Come to Texas, tell government where to stuff it.