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OK, but too abstract. I want something with a hard cutoff that sets off a boolean when people buy it. “Yes†I can buy the cheap gas orâ€No†I have to buy the expensive SUV gas.
People will figure out. If not, more revenue for the city, less tax for the rest of us. :)
astrid Says:
> Well, why do middle age white men go crazy for Harleys
> when they’re very expensive and not that fast (since
> they’re so big and heavy)?
Harleys are underpowered expensive piles of crap that mostly ridden by gay men in the leather lifestyle, in the closet gay men who are in to the leather lifestyle but don’t want to admit it and losers who have done nothing with their life and feel important when people look at them revving the engine of a loud bike with lots of chrome…
> I never saw a Hummer going offroad while I was in the Southwest.
> Their wheelbase is too long and they’re way too expensive to
> get trashed up
The reason you don’t see many H1s on the trail is due to the “track†not the “wheelbaseâ€. Most off road trails are run by guys in short wheelbase Jeeps, FJ40s and D90s. A longer wheelbase vehicle like a Toyota or Chevy extra cab pickup may “high center†a little more often but with a skid plate and some pulls from their friends will hot have much problem. A Hummer H1 is just too wide to make it between the rocks and trees on most trails…
P.S. What is the difference between a dog and a Harley? A dog can get in the back of a pickup by itself (Harleys break down so much that you have to lift them in)…
Yeah, the SUV thing is a bit of an escalating Arms Race:
You need one because you want to see over the trafic, and in order too do that your SUV needs to get bigger, in order to see over the smaller SUVs. Ad Ininitum.
Soon all SUVs will be 15ft off the ground, and still no one will be able to see where they're going.
As for the 'safety' issue...studies have shown that many SUVs are actually less stable because of the wheelbase/height ratio. They tend to tip over more often, and many of them are built to the same specifications as 'normal' cars. OK, Land Rovers and Cayennes maybe not, but most SUVs are built by car companies, using parts from their cars, cunningly disguised as SUV parts.
Perhaps pricing them out of availablilty would help. The UK recently set road tax levels on 'high end' 4x4s (SUVs in the USA) 2500 GBP more a year than other cars. That, and the steadily increasing price of gas will soon put paid to them.
Again, I have no problem with them for people with big families (although most seem to only hold 5 people, just like other cars), or who work/live in rural areas where they need 4WD. But, living in LA, I see thousands of them every day, 90% of them have a single occupant, and are on thier way to a condo in Beverlywood...
Anyway, how are we going to help distressed homeowners? I'm not concerned about the greedy flippers, but more about the OO with kids, house down the pan, divorce rates? Increasing?
During rush hour and any other relatively crowded traffic situations, I’m always going to be “too close†to the vehicle in front of me.
I keep at least 3-4 seconds away. People can cut in front of me and I do not care. I just drop back a little.
It's all about the Bling! LA has the highest Bling Per Capita Quotient(tm) on the West Coast. Basically, you areno one without an SUV the size of the North Face of the Eiger.
Though, there's no helping some people....a friend of mine recently bought a Pacifica (Chevy, GM, anyone?).
She was chuffed to bits with it, and couldn't help showing it off to us, and kept on telling us what a good deal she got (not surprising really, the sales guy must have thought 'yippee! here comes my comission!').
When I asked her how many miles per gallon it got, she looked at me funny, and had to think.
'Erm, about 17mpg on the highway'.
I sort of snorted, politley mind, because she was so happy with it and I'm not one to piss on anybody's chips.
Then she started on again about how great a deal it was, how much room it has (she only has one child), etc, etc..
I'm still waiting for the Canyonero, as seen on The Simpsons:
Can you name the truck with four wheel drive,
smells like a steak and seats thirty-five..
Canyonero! Canyonero!
...
12 yards long, 2 lanes wide,
65 tons of American Pride!
Canyonero! Canyonero!
Michael Anderson,
I hate to "one better" you but when I pick up my realt-whore repo I've got dibbs on OR custom plate:
AGT2BY
Don't EVEN think about it!
I drove across the country a few years ago. Once you get out into some off the less populated states like Oklahoma and Arkansas, the freeway becomes mostly truckers. It was sort of comforting. They were almost always very courteous drivers. I also had a CB radio and could listen to them chatter. I think they got lonely or something because I'd chime in and they'd get all excited. They'dd ask what kind of rig I had and when I mentioned I was in the little toyota truck they were disappointed.
You know what would be cruel to do if all us us wind up buying repo houses? get the email address of the previous owner, paint the house bright purple and send em a picture of it with you standing out front, flashing a shit-eating grin.
Small price to pay for who? The people? The community? Or, let me guess, you?
The community.
If “misfortune occurs everydayâ€, then accept *your* misfortune that so-called unproductive people occupy space you want to live on and move along. Cause after all, life’s just not fair.
But how does that increase social utility?
Your’s is the ponzi mentality in action - the belief that “someone always has to get screwed so I might as well join in on delivering the screw job, tooâ€. That is an obvious sign of moral weakness and lack of character.
If someone must be screwed, at least we should make sure that more people can benefit from such misfortune. If you ask me, morality is all aout social utility. The ends justify the means.
I would rather have the old guys riding Harleys than get on a crotch rocket and think they have good reflex to control them. Its better left for the younger adults.. and if they are not careful on them, Darwin takes care of it..
On my recent road trip to LA and back, I was soo annoyed by idiots who think the left lane on I5 is for cruising at 60mph. I passed a lot of idiots on the right cuz I was riding at 70mph. These idiots dont even look in the mirror to see any approaching vehicles. I guess some where driving straight up from mexico. I thought left lanes for passing but I changed my mind after being on I5 for 10 miles and stuck to the right lane to pass vehicles. I think the worst invention for vehicles where the cruise controls. People take forever to overtake a freaking 18 wheeler cuz their cruise is set at 65mph.
I wish the Autobahn rules would be enforced here strictly. Pass on the left and stay on right else get a ticket. Let people who want to speed do that. The accident rates on autobahns ( with no speed limit ) is lower than the US highways. That tells something.
Peter,
It might have been phrased better that fiscally irresponsible people ( those that used compound exotic loans) etc etc should be removed from the local economic scene because their behaviour is in part why the economy and social issues continue to be a problem in this state.Fiscally irresponsible people cause inflation and overextension of the mean. I think that's what you meant, but it almost looked like it was saying that people that don't earn enough to buy homes at the current bubble houses should move on. Just an observation.
SHTF Re: Truckers
Yeah, I've always found truckers to be polite and courteous. In exchange I've always tried to be polite back.
I go up to Mammoth on the I395 one or twice a year, and am amazed at people who tailgate trucks on the single-lane sections. If you're driving a big-rig you have no view of the back...
But, Mammoth attracts a lot of Angelinos (me included) and I'm sure that they put something in the water in LA that makes everyone drive like morons.
Just leave the vicinty of LA County and all of a sudden, people have signals on thier cars, and use the slow lane on 2-lane highways unless overtaking. Amazing.
I think the problem for me is watching the bubble burst is akin to watching paint dry - I need something to keep me occupied...
The accident rates on autobahns ( with no speed limit ) is lower than the US highways. That tells something.
That proves nothing. We need strict enforcement of the speed limit law.
Jon,
Much as I don't like to see misfortune fall upon people who don't deserve it, Peter P is right. There is simply no way governement can eliminate all economic and social unfairness in the world by legislation, and most attempts to do so in the past to do so have resulted in moral hazards (unintended consequences) far worse than the "unfariness" they were trying to cure in the first place.
The best we can do is to create a tax and regulatory structure that is as neutral towards asset class as possible (i.e., not rewarding/subsidizing RE investors over stock or bond investors), that does not attempt to "fix" the price of capital, labor or commodities (either directly by decree or indirectly via subsidies) and, and does not create more useless, self-perpetuating bureaucracies that generally do more harm than good (the Fed, GSEs, HUD, Dept. of Agriculture, Energy, etc.).
Some nice people will get hurt because of market imbalances and disruptions, this is unavoidable. The best we can do is NOT to implement policies that WORSEN the normal volatility of the business cycles and exaggerate speculative bubbles beyond what would have happened without active government intervention (as in the Fed dropping rates to 1% and the GSEs "socializing" mortgage risk, while "privatizing" transaction profits, etc.).
I think that’s what you meant, but it almost looked like it was saying that people that don’t earn enough to buy homes at the current bubble houses should move on. Just an observation.
No... the current bubble is causing massive imbalance in the economy, which cannot be good for the economy in the long run.
Prop 13 is causing resources to be misallocated.
my husband has difficulty hiring young lawyers, even lateral associates at $275,000 a year
Per U.S. Census:
2003 median household income (as in two-wage earning families included):
California $48,912
Yeah, I'd say $275K is "tad" above average :-)
There was a recent study comparing accident rates in states that repealed the federal 55 limit vs. those that retained it, and found that the higher limits did not increase fatalities.
On a related note, when Montana had no daytime limit, accidents decreased year over year to national lows, while seat belt usage, road courtesy and proper lane usage increased. Once limits were reimposed, the trends immediately reversed, with interstate fatalities doubling, traffic flow problems and related accidents increasing, and road courtesy decreasing.
So, Peter, I am curious as to why your reverence for speed limits, when both data and engineering principles suggest that at best they provide no increase in safety.
SFwoman,
One question I have for you is what in the hell do the lawyers applying to your husband's firm expect? 275k? if they have a "problem" with the cost of living on 275k, and I assume their wives work too meaning they probably are pulling say- 3-400k a year, then I have a hard time understanding how they cannot afford to live here while most of us make 50-60k. What do they want? A new bimmer AND a mansion in Palo Alto? is it simply out of the question for them that they simply can't drive a camry and live in a decent home in a normal neighborhood? is there seriously that much prestige attached to being a lawyer? I always wonder what I'd do if I made that kind off cash. You better bet I wouldn't be buying expensive cars, homes, food, or any of that stuff. I'd work for 10 years, save a few mil, move to another region, and simply retire.
Sorry if I sound bitter, but if people can't find a way to live off of 275 freaking thousand dollars a year, then perhaps that's why this country has such a massive problem.people don't know the value of money.
SHTF,
I don't want to speak for SF Woman, but for higher-end salaried people here, it's not about trying to "find a way to live off of 275 freaking thousand dollars a year." I'm sure many of these atty's could easily do that. The calculus is that they can compare similar salaries in other cities for the same type of jobs and realize how much more home they can purchase in those cities. The lone exception in the comparison is probably NYC, but that's a whole other ballgame. There are lawyers up the ying yang there, but the high end firms pay HUGE, esp. when you factor in the bonuses. My wife hears from friends a top-tier firm like Wachtel in NYC will give 100% of base salary as a bonus. Then, when you compare other comparable cities, like Chicago, Boston, DC, etc., they are much more affordable, despite their own housing bubble issues.
The effects of Prop 13 seem to be magnified by the bubble. Ignoring whether prop 13 is in itself good or bad (I'm inclined to the bad), I imagine it like a girder in a building that being shoved out of the way by an expanding... bubble. The girder may be inconvenient or annoying, but it only becomes especially noticeable when something in the building has gotten so oversized that it's pressing against it. (A crappy analogy, I know.)
So, Peter, I am curious as to why your reverence for speed limits, when both data and engineering principles suggest that at best they provide no increase in safety.
Because I am fallible. Speed is the issue. But I may have to agree that speed limits may or may not be useful at all.
I'm wondering how feasible it would be to run some voice-stress analysis software on those strident "soft-landing" statements...
danbgood Says:
Geeze you folks must all be from CA
I’m from MA and find your blindness oddly charming
[...]
Someone from Taxachusettes laughing at those from People's Republic of Kalifornia.
NYC -metro- is a lot more affordable than the Bay Area Metro.
I never implied otherwise. Just pointing out that salaries there are even more than here for attys., despite the fact that indeed, cost of living here is worse.
I never implied otherwise. Just pointing out that salaries there are even more than here for attys., despite the fact that indeed, cost of living here is worse.
But I heard that nice condos in NYC are pushing $3000+/sqft while nice condos in SF are usually less than $2000/sqft.
A 15 or 30 yr fixed rate mortgage along with a basically fixed rate prop tax. You can then raise your family and live life without worrying about the market determining your house and prop tax payment.
What about the cost of food and expenditures? There is no such thing as absolute financial security. It is not that bad, this just pushes people to be productive in all stages of life.
That’s Manhattan though. In the other boroughs, it’s not nearly like that - and it doesn’t mean living in the Bronx either (which isn’t that bad anymore).
But even nice condos in SF Financial District or other posh areas are not as expensive.
I heard that most condos in NY do not even have inside laundry, is this true or an urban legend?
SFW,
Is $275 K the base? It's not bad. I want the job. But I don't have a JD. Well, on a second thought, I'll probably decline, as it entails too much work. My current compensation, if you consider the real hourly wage, approaches .. um ... better not say it. It's not infinity.
@Peter P
Having no speed limits and lesser accidents prove a lot of things. Either the people in Germany are mild mannered and well behaved and are very respectable and people in the US are all boors.. I dont think that is the case cuz people are people, be it US, England or Germany or anywhere else in the world. It is the fear of the law that puts people in control and i have heard cops give big tickets to people who stay on the left lanes longer than needed.
Lack of fear of the law is the reason for such recklessness and stupidity in this country.. but hey it is the land of the free..
A kid who was riding a stolen bike in Oakland at 2 am in the nite is a good kid but apparently the cops are at fault for not checking if the driver of the SUV was not drunk though he was interviewed by the cops for an hour. The parents should be punished and punished hard and in front of the public so that public see it and have the fear in them and make sure they dont have to get publicily flogged for their kids actions..
"NYC -metro- is a lot more affordable than the Bay Area Metro."
Indeed, outside of Manhattan, CA prices actually buys a nice upper middle class home, not working class home stock that went for $50K thirty years ago. Plus, good New York suburbs have good public schools and parochial schools, so kids' education is a lot cheaper.
Manhattan is a whole other crazy world, but even there, the truly exorbitant prices seem to be concentrated in a few areas. And at least you don't have to figure car costs into living there.
Peter,
I don't know if it's true in Manhanttan. In the boros, partially true. Some buildings have just a shared laundry room in the basement. Same with old apartment/condo/co-op buildings in Seattle. I suspect it's also true in Manhattan.
If you are rich, you don't do laundry yourself. You have maids come in to pick up and drop off your dirty clothes. It's not that expensive.
So what is the verdict, are we in for a soft landing or not? The San Jose Mercury News was trying to make out there's not a problem today - at least that was the impression I got when I skimmed it today.
Regarding speeding limit.
I drove in Germany and Austria 4 yrs ago. It was my new BMW 3, euro delivery program. Told not to exceed 92 mph, as it was still in break-in period. So tried 90 mph on autobahn. Keine probleme. But every so often, a car would zoom me by. Must be driving at 110+ mph. I took a look. Very old beatup car from 70's or early 80's. A Ford. Another time, a Honda. One time, it was a fucking motocycle zooming by. Again, at least 100 mph.
No accidents. No near accidents. Germans drive very well. Very orderly but fast. I drove well, too. At least, on par.
My sis bought her house in Texas 15 yrs ago. Her prop taxes were $3500. She now pays $7800 per year in prop taxes. She tells me she regrets selling her home in Cali and moving to Texas 15 yrs ago.
Granted this is probably above today's inflation-adjusted value of $3500 in 1991 USD (btw, I would not trust any calculator that uses the grossly-understated CPI), but even so, $650/month plus a 1991 cost-basis FRM payment is not likely to break the bank for most people.
One of the things that has actually helped prevent a similar RE bubble from taking hold in Texas IS the free-floating tax basis, so no, I certainly do not "love" Prop. 13 and it's effects in this or any other market. I would trade the Texas model anyday for CA and its Prop. 13-enforced so-called "fairness".
No accidents. No near accidents. Germans drive very well. Very orderly but fast. I drove well, too. At least, on par.
But an otherwise survivable accident would be fatal at 100mph. A slight impact can cause the vehicle to lose control and flip multiple times. I want lower speed limit because I want more accidents to be survivable.
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How are we going to assist distressed homedebtors in the coming days? Is this a moral obligation?
What would Immanuel Kant say?
What would J. S. Mill say?