Census 2010: Impact on Employment
Submitted by
CalculatedRisk on Tue, 03/02/2010 - 6:36pm (296 comments)
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Bah, the census.
Who authorized that thing, anyway?
I'll bet the red bars dwarf the brown and purple bars once that chart is complete this fall.
What will they do during the next census after the post office goes out of business?
Nemo wrote:
"The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. "
Article 1, Section 2, The Constitution of the United States of America
Why such a large delta between 1990 and 2000?
One of my patrons just lost his job (the courier from my bank that Sheila took out). He applied with the census but failed the test that is given. He said it had quite a few algebra and geometry questions that he had trouble with (in his 60's).
With 2020 hindsight?
Wait, that document is still operative?
(bada bing!)
Ha ha! I will probably be collecting census figures mid march!
Finally, I will be employed! I think that hiring americans to count other americans will be a new growth industry. If we hire the counted americans to proofcheck the counting americans counts by counting the counting americans and the numbers of americans counted per county, we can count on full employment for all americans, counting and non counting alike. If only we could securitize the future earnings of this new industry, and borrow against it, we'll be back to the good old days!
Good night everyone.
America's hidden debt problem - Yahoo! Finance
No, the magic 8 ball is now being used.
Vonbek777 wrote:
What, no "Good Luck"?
The practice tests are online, not sure if you can retake it or not.
Nemo wrote:
Pfft, you know so. I'm just posting for the kids who fell asleep in civics.
Investor's Business Daily: Gov't Dependents: The New Majority
"With $45 trillion in planned spending over the next decade, the U.S. will soon look more like one of the fiscally bloated, economically sclerotic members of the European Union than the America that has for a century been the world's economic trailblazer.
The further we move away from a market economy and toward government control, the more dependent we and our children will become."
All according to plan.
JP wrote:
1990 was a Republican census; 2000 was a Democratic census. It's a question of how hard you try to count the less fixed residents.
He said it had quite a few algebra and geometry questions that he had trouble with (in his 60's).
He can take it as many times as he wants. The algebra questions are easy. They're things like: 3.754 * 100 * 1000 = ?
The census test is super easy.
ghostfaceinvestah wrote:
Hey, I was just reading about China's Hidden Debt Problem
.
Weird.
I love the fuzzy math, "only" 42 cents if you mail it in, as if no other processing has to occur, and $25 dollars to knock on your door.
They are only paying $17 an hour at least by media reports, so that is some very inefficient door knocking going on.
If nobody mails it in or answers the door do we reapportion down to 50 Representatives? Starve the beast.
He also said that most of the applicants there taking the test were in their 50's and 60's as well. I guess that demographic is having a tough time right now.
Rajesh wrote:
Census hiring set to boost job gains - Washington Times
It is a question of how much more dependent you want to get the sheeple.
"The Census Bureau is starting to hire 1.4 million people to man offices and go door to door collecting information about everything from household income to health status. "
Ha Hoops, not when you've been pickling your brain with a fifth of vodka a day for 40 years it's not. Dude is just nuts. He said when he was young he worked for the
. I'm thinking they took his soul and all he has left is vodka.
He also said that most of the applicants there taking the test were in their 50's and 60's as well. I guess that demographic is having a tough time right now.
I can attest to that. It was fucking weird. I was the youngest guy in the room except for two other student pot heads and a mentally challenged person. The rest were really old guys, some wearing suits, looking to be capable but about 50-60.
CaptainMorgan wrote:
What, they don't believe in the free market? Let people bid on the jobs.
But that is stimulus right?
ghostfaceinvestah quoted:
Yes, we should go back to the laissez-faire utopia of 2006. Happiness would be assured.
scone wrote:
Key point, not that our government seems concerned with efficiency and saving taxpayer money.
Comrade Kristina wrote:
No, they tend to poll as happier than younger people. By the time you're 50, a lot of shit has flowed by. And by 60, the Change has happened. All to the good.
Rajesh wrote:
We'll all have RFID chips implanted by then and they just tally us all up on our way to the mall.
I have to assume that "mailing" inthe internet age means go to your browser?
Here in Florida they are paying 12 bucks an hour plus mileage.
ghostfaceinvestah wrote:
Where does it call for collecting that information in the Constitution? Just do a head count and move on.
Hoopajoops LTD wrote:
Hey! I resemble that!
whippersnappers...
Comrade Kristina wrote:
In Florida - here its mostly 20-30 somethings from what my kids say - get's them out of the basement for a few weeks anyway.
CaptainMorgan wrote:
Actually the data gathering aspect of this civilization is one of it's best attributes. If it lives on through the centuries, the data will become more valuable with time. It's not all about us, us, us.
JP wrote:
One of the reasons for using postal mail is to verify your actual residence. On the internet no one knows you're a dog.
"The Census Bureau is not an enforcement agency and does not share (personal) data with any other federal agency, such as ICE or the IRS, or with law enforcement," Ane-Maria Garcia of the bureau's regional office in Boston told a group of Connecticut journalists this month.
scone, why do you remind me of Spock?
I bowl with a guy that is 95 years old. That makes me young!
Comrade Kristina wrote:
People from the Midwest will be moving there - do they get mileage from Iowa?
Not that there is anything wrong with being a dog.
Comrade Kristina wrote:
Because I'm an INTJ.
scone wrote:
Speak for yourself.
scone. Me too.
You mean some of you aren't dogs?
I'm a cat Dawg...a Cougar...Meowwwwww
scone wrote:
I'm afraid of your kind
Doc Holiday wrote:
Feed us information, and we're good. Your curious hierarchical power structures interest us only from an anthropological perspective.
How is the government paying the full postage rate? Couldn't negotiate a discount with the business that depends on a government enforced monopoly to exist? Lack of bargaining power?
not_going_to_post wrote:
Just another subsidy?
not_going_to_post wrote:
42 cent both ways is the bulk rate. Part of the hidden but inadequate subsidy the postal service gets.
Just another subsidy?
Looks like it. I'm guessing this means no more postage rate increases for awhile? Oh....
Hoopajoops LTD wrote:
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, China should be blushing.
Yup how we vote in WA State, Oregon, a few other states but Obama admin is desperate to try and bring down 20% U6 so will 'shuck and jive' as much as possible because someone likes the
The United States Constitution mandates that a census be taken at least once every ten years...
The first U.S. Census was conducted in 1790 by Federal marshals.
List of recessions in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There have been as many as 47 recessions in the United States since 1790
The average recession lasted 22 months, and the average expansion 27. From 1919 to 1945, there were 6 cycles; recessions lasted an average 18 months and expansions for 35. From 1945 to 2001, and 10 cycles, recessions lasted an average 10 months and expansions an average of 57 months
Rajesh was correct on the difference between the 1990 and 2000 versions.
Strangely enough, I did reply in 1990, but refused in 2000. I didn't like the choices in the preset boxes.
That's not a crime, is it? Has the statute of limitations run out?
scone wrote:
I seek to go where no one has gone before
JP wrote:
Congressional oversight?
Computerization?
/snark
Lobbyist Ben Dover wrote:
Hahahaha scone. So true. Number five needs "Input"....I have an insatiable appetite for information.
not_going_to_post wrote:
The US Government is non-confrontational. Heck, they couldn't even negotiate a discounted payout with a fatally-injured eight-legged ink-squirting cephalopod.
The Anatomy of a Taco | Sustainability | Fast Company
a single taco contained ingredients that traveled 64,000 miles.
I don't disagree, but have a hard time thinking it's highly valuable data that we don't already have in other forms.
2010 Census Questions (PDF!)
The census was pretty aggressive around here in 2000. One of my tenants didn't fill out the form, and wouldn't answer the door when the census droid came. The droid tracked me down and was trying to get me to fill out the form for the tenant. Needless to say, I refused.
Hoopajoops LTD wrote:
We can always count on you for great ideas!
I just don't get the idea of not answering the census. The only thing you accomplish by NOT answering is allowing gerrymandering in your name. It is stupid. But of course we have a high percentage of imbeciles in our midst in this country so not surprising.
Doc Holiday wrote:
Unfortunately, NASA funds have been cut drastically.
I would also guess that the same people that refuse to answer the census are the same people bitching about not being represented in our government. Go figure.
Doc Holiday wrote:
Gitmo's been closed.
You had a much cleaner, witty retort than I had
I would think a lot of people that are not here legally, or have people living with them that are not legal would be hesitant to answer, which is why they try to stress they don't share the data with anyone
I didn't read that as 21 cents each way, though of course it could be. The quote seemed to imply it was 42 cents to mail it back. No matter what you do with the form, the money to mail it out is already spent so it would seem logical to compare only the return shipping rate against the cost of going door to door.
I assume the $25 per house includes the cost of "administration" and "oversight". That is the job I want. Not the $17/hr job. I want the $100/hr job overseeing the $17/hr guy.
sm_landlord wrote:
Good man. I wouldn't open the door for them either. They were too easy to spot coming.
An accurate count will be difficult because the counting Americans are always in motion.
It's the classic traveling census-taker problem.
Census data can be, and has been, abused in the past. Information is power. Resisting the census isn't totally irrational.
Census - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I'm sure the $25 to knock on your door includes a lot of cost for finding the door. That gets expensive in a hurry. However, you can't save so much by mailing the forms in since most of the time that's necessary the mail can't find you either.
scone, I get the whole "fight the power" thing. I just think people hurt themselves more than help themselves by not answering.
broward wrote:
Oh, I love CT-complete problems.
Comrade Kristina wrote:
They may be helping themselves, but it doesn't help history.
The only thing you accomplish by NOT answering is allowing gerrymandering in your name.
I don't follow. I thought census made it easier to gerrymander by identifying exactly who lives where and exact demographics.
Perhaps we should take a lesson from the Greeks and offer a bribe to fill out the forms.
В России первая перепись налогоплательщиков был достигнут в 1722-23 по приказу Петра Великого (только мужчины были пересчитаны), и было приказано повторяется каждые 20 лет
Comrade Kristina wrote:
It's also a way to object to how the questions are structured.
As for gerrymandering, I could throw stones to various assembly, state senate and congressional districts. There are so many Republicans in my area, they carve it up to add some R votes wherever they can. The so-called non-partisan offices are even filled with former Young Republicans.
When, during a discussion about political parties, I asked a local Republican operative (white woman, mid 30s) for one of these elected officials where the local Democratic Party headquarters was, she said I should just go to the next meeting of the African American Chamber of Commerce.
CaptainMorgan wrote:
Can consumers charge extra $$ for correct answers?
Funny, in California the Dems do exactly the same thing where I live. Perhaps we should switch.
scone wrote:
What if you put in "Vulcan" for race?
for future historians?
Monkey
And "Jedi" for religion?
sm_landlord wrote:
If they still get the joke 10,000 years from now, that would be interesting.
mpthompson wrote:
I'm in the same state. Our districts are each part of the guaranteed 65-35 split. All districts probably are.
Whether that will change after the 2010 count remains to be seen, but at least it will be out of the hands of the power brokers to guarantee safe districts for all concerned. Of course, it will be in the hands of their lackeys, with some public members, but at least it's a start.
sportsfan wrote:
I've already applied.
sm_landlord wrote:
"And so to bed."
"We can probably expect a couple hundred thousand people added between January through April, and another 500 thousand or so in May"
Maybe Hope can keep 'em on the payroll a little longer, at least until after Nov 5th (WINK).
Rob Dawg wrote:
If you get there, I hope you do a good job.
They really should be doing a census as a continuous process- at least, until November 2012.
I plan to put in African American,my ancestors may have left africa a few thousand years ago and MLK's a hundred years or two ago...but we were both born here and our ancestors there...
Tom Stone wrote:
Now that's actually a wonderful idea. Mind if I borrow it ?
Invariably the people the census bureau are mostly a bunch of morons, so they have to hire enumerators last minute and pay over the odds. They've already done the initial hiring for March, there will be a big hire in May after they get behind. That'll be $30/hr.
You would think in such a crappy economy it'd be easy to hire, but not really.
sportsfan wrote:
I turned down a political client this election cycle just in case that raised a flag (it was allowed under the rules), I have the GISS and math background. It is going to be interesting because my first cuts indicate that there will monster overlaps of intrenched interests and some wild west amalgamated new districts. No more Lois Capps type coastal snakes for instance.
scone wrote:
It both amuses and disturbs me when the conservatives rail against the census, when it is clearly constitutionally mandated.
Comrade Alexei Mikhailovich wrote:
When the downside is a lynching in WV/Kentucky I'd expect it to be so...
Blackhalo wrote:
It ain't the count, it's the mission creep. Count the heads, set the House. Everything else is information as power.
Rob Dawg wrote:
Or as genealogical research
My ad below is a friendly reminder that registering for selective service is the law.
Rob Dawg wrote:
I would expect everyone who is anyone in TPTB in this State will be weighing in with whatever they can heave.
All in all, it would be a worthwhile project in which to be engaged.
Rob Dawg wrote:
"Selective for whom?"
yagij wrote:
Do not lick the envelope.
not_going_to_post wrote:
Are you well connected enough to get that job?
Rob Dawg wrote:
No one would be dumb enough to clone me. Why waste the resources?
Am I way off base in my assumption the census info would/could be used to gerrymander? I am unfamiliar with the process for redrawing districts but my instincts say the party in power can probably get away with whatever they want.
Rob Dawg wrote:
Have your dog lick it. Think
Rob Dawg wrote:
I suspect that law has been rendered unconstitutional...
Just a dream. The reality is I already have one of those jobs. I work for .gov.
sportsfan wrote:
This is why it's called the High Desert.
not_going_to_post wrote:
Some parties in some places certainly have done that:
CNN.com - Texas House paralyzed by Democratic walkout - May. 19, 2003
My ads are trying to sell me some education. I assume your internet search history and browsing history is related to the ads you get?
Well, you have to depend on them not lynching themselves, first.
Who says politics is boring?
not_going_to_post wrote:
Not Tom DeLay apparently. The "Hammer" delivered.
I sense a lucrative opportunity for Blackwa....er...I mean Xe to ride shotgun for the census takers.
yagij wrote:
Selective for the most expendable cannon fodder. Duh.
JP wrote:
One of the good reasons for getting older. You get further and further beyond that draft age...
Eventually, someone is going to figure out that those older folks are very expendable. And we're all named Logan.
I grew up laughing at the soviet five year plans. Now one neighbor has his house 'red tagged' since his CK sister rotted her teeth out w/, um, something, and another neighbor hasn't paid his/her mortgage for 12+ months while him and his wife were getting their 4th extension to, um, unemployment insurance...
hu couldanode?
Hoops, I feel your over-educated angst, but man, give me a toke...
JP wrote:
Run, Logan, Run!
.
Old folks were always "very" expendable. Why do you think hiding age is so prevalent in the West?
yagij wrote:
You do realize that old men and young boys are the last line of defense?
carousel
of course, rob will beat me to it...
Really off topic on a slow night...
Any Truthers or 9/11 conspiracy theorists here? I stumbled upon what I believe to be a most excellent piece of "evidence" today for the whole "government knew" theory. Kind of a small piece, but original I think. I'm not a conspiracy believer myself, but I'm somewhat interested in just throwing the evidence into the echo chamber of conspiracy sites to see if it makes the Truther powerpoints and such.
sportsfan wrote:
If foreign armies are storming through the SE, then I will have more concerns than defending...
blinkered wrote:
I only introduce dark themes. I leave it to others to keep them alive.
Rob Dawg wrote:
Now what if Carousel turned out to be the starting point for Soylent Green? Talk about plot twist!
I talked to a woman today who is going to be working as an enumerator (knock on the door if you didn't return your census form) and she said that they are still looking for census workers (@$20/hr).
Stunning in today's economic environment.
EDIT: ... and WHY am I being told by the bottom banner ad that I must register with my Selective Service office? I managed to avoid Viet Nam, I thought I was safe by now.
The
were behind the whole thing, weren't they? I knew it!!!
dem's people
and to further the non sequiter:
Perfect Tommy: Emilio Lizardo. Wasn't he on TV once?
Buckaroo Banzai: You're thinking of Mr. Wizard.
Reno: Emilio Lizardo is a top scientist, dummkopf.
Perfect Tommy: So was Mr. Wizard.
Nope. No smoking gun like that. Just a message from SECDEF to all installations and commands worldwide explaining the use and importance of Force Protection Conditions (FPCONs which are Anti-Terrorism conditions based on threat), and basically directing a review of procedures for elevating the FPCON.
That was released on 07 September 2001 (Friday). Would realistically have allowed a single day (Monday) for commands to implement for the following day's elevation after the attacks.
Hoopajoops LTD wrote:
It is super easy if you are still in test taking mode. If you haven't taken a test forty+ years (60 years now less 18 years old at high school graduation), taking any test can be a bitch.
It is like riding a bicycle. Once you learn to ride, you can always ride; but you will be a bit wobbly the first time out after 40 years, until you relearn the automatic muscle controls needed for balance.
No matter where you go, there you are.
"If you want to reduce the deficit, mail it back! "
Is that you, john, er, big, boo-tay?
Can Cash for Caulkers stimulate June?
REBear wrote:
Cash for Stalkers can't be for behind.
I'm still waiting for an official Cash for Hookers campaign.
blinkered wrote:
I sure ain't John Smallberries. Oberthrusters to eleven!
Later all. I'm off to spread the
It is super easy if you are still in test taking mode.
Look in column A:
Michael Noreaga
Look in column B:
Michael Neaga
Mikhail Noreaga
Michael Naganuma
Does the name in column A match any name in column B?
No. This does not require you to be suped up into test making mode. Especially since you can take it any number of times.
Laugh-a while you can, monkey-boy.
Will there be a rigorous count of vacant homes?
some investor guy wrote:
Only in FL where there is a history of rigorous recounts.
.
Edit: If you find a guy named squatting in a house down in FL and his name was Chad, how would you count that hanging Chad?
not_going_to_post wrote:
I've always thought this was at least a bizarre coincidence:
USATODAY.com - Federal agency planned plane-crashing-into-building drill ... last Sept. 11
some investor guy wrote:
That is one number I would love to see.
blinkered wrote:
I am sure, in the miserable annals of the Earth, you will be duly enshrined.
Rob Dawg wrote:
like tears in rain... Time to die, er,
:nightrain all:
:nyteall: or whatever...
"Rob Dawg wrote:
Do not lick the envelope.
Have your dog lick it. Think "
I would not want to be the person opening envelopes that smell of dog balls.
CaptainMorgan wrote:
There are also people with unpaid child support, unpaid taxes, those awaiting foreclosure, and people who have outstanding warrants.
poic wrote:
Mine is going back with some baby power in the envelope. That'll keep processing costs down.
josap wrote:
Housing Vacancies and Homeownership - Historical Tables
test taking mode, sortof, Take the Test | Test The Nation: IQ | CBC Television
Comrade Alexei Mikhailovich wrote:
I have heard an assortment of stories (mostly in LA) of how someone advertises for a job like law office receptionist, gets 300 applications, and can't find anyone they think is qualified.
I now have an even more bizarre example. An LA architecture firm that has had ads out for architects and can't find any they like. Something like 40% of people who worked at architecture firms here in 2007 lost their jobs. Probably 25% of the industry is still unemployed here. What is the deal?
The applicants likely have small boobs or morals.
Thanks EHP
EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
Yes. Those are the surveys. I'm talking about an actual count. If you read the survey methodology, you'll see why I'm concerned. It reads like the birth dearth employment models. Housing Vacancies and Homeownership - Fourth Quarter 2009: Source and Accuracy
Periodically, you need to actually go out and count."Further research has shown that the CPS/HVS and the 2000 census produced significant differences for vacancy characteristics. The rental vacancy rate from the April 2000 census was 6.8 percent, whereas the CPS/HVS reported the rental vacancy rate of 7.9 percent for the first half of 2000. The April 2000 census had a homeowner vacancy rate of 1.7 percent, while the CPS/HVS had a vacancy rate of approximately 1.5 percent for the first half of 2000. For occupied housing, the April 2000 census produced a homeownership rate of 66.2 percent, while for the first half of 2000, the CPS/HVS produced a rate of 67.2 percent. These differences illustrate that, for these characteristics as well as others, caution should be used when making comparisons between the 2000 census and the CPS/HVS."
Tom Stone wrote:
In my industry, any morals problems which show up in the public record really limit your income, often your ability to work in the industry. BK, criminal convictions, drug problems....if only we used these screening methods on politicians.
some investor guy wrote:
Yep, it's the hardest bit and the time you can make a killing. Quota used to be 3 houses every two hours, you could do a hundred empty houses in 2 days. After that, just kick it by the pool and earn while you still blow out quotas.
It's bigger than the Vulture gold mine in AZ.
some investor guy wrote:
they want to hire a commoditized good, no training, no close-enough, they have their dream match and want to hire them for wages of dirt + stale bagels
maybe people on the inside are sabotaging the process trying to protect their own jobs/income. since fewer people are leaving their jobs, managers are out of practice. a lot of people just hate going through the hiring process.
it could also be the desperate unemployed from other sectors are flooding them with unrelated experience
before long, they will all be conning the automated website/resume/interview system and it will be hard to hire anyone until the desperate unemployed have some other kind of more attractive alternative. Isn't it a UE requirement, to look for work and attend interviews?
in Canada, the Federal government wants to import skilled workers who are not certified or skilled, to lower the wages for trades... maybe the company is just trying to make a case for H1B expansion
maybe they are just trying to prepare for a recovery, but haven't seen anything that would make going ahead with the hire now worth it
soig
I assume the Census ends up counting occupied/unoccupied households during this census year, 5 years from now the data may drift but we're coming up to an anchor datapoint
I also presume they have access to local tax data to get an idea for the breakdown of seasonal/rental properties
looking forward to the 2010 survey of consumer finances... although when exactly that survey is done will be crucial to the reported balance sheets
yagij wrote:
The ultimate stimulus bill.
Holy crap, FDIC software architect job showing up on monster, located in Dallas.
Sadly, I am not a Java guy in any way shape or form. broward?
Can't believe we've gone this far in the thread w/o raising the question, "Who ya gonna send to count the bandos?"
And...is a bando technically homeless and the house vacant or is it his home and occupied?
EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
They are looking for 10-15 years experience type of people. I know someone who interviewed. Two senior people spent an hour each, gave them a tour, talked in depth. Didn't seem at all like they were going through the motions. Salary hasn't been discussed yet (they might be back for more interviews).
I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of applicants are just idiots or not qualified. We get that in my industry regarding firms responding to RFPs.
Still, they have gotten a huge number of resumes and portfolios. Must have done a lot of interviews. They have a lot of business and actually need more people. Their current employees are getting pretty beat up by the hours and travel.
Greece Update: More Efforts before Assistance - Credit Writedowns
As daunting as the Greece situation may be, the scale of Spain’s challenge is even more so. Today’s news that Spain’s unemployment, already the highest in the euro zone rose further in February underscores its dire straits.
The number of Spaniards registering for unemployment rose by a little more 82k or 2% to 4.1 mln. Jobless claims are up 19% year-over-year. ** Around half the jobs lost in the euro zone in the past two years took place in Spain**.
some investor guy wrote:
Present a bale of hay to a mule, and it will eat.
Place a mule in the middle of two hay bales, and it will starve?
Jonathan wrote:
You can actually live well on that kind of job in Dallas. Oh, and if Broward needs to know where the hotties are, I just happen to live in the middle of Hottie Central. In some ways, it is a pity I didn't live here when I was single.
RE wrote:
So it's 1998 for them. They're used to it.
this thread needs help...
edit:
I guess we could setup some decision algo's to automate govt...because thier would be only a couple left after that screening....
if you're an architecture firm, do you care if your employees are getting beat up if they have no where else to go?
pity is wasted profit?
Jonathan wrote:
Sadly, I am not a Java guy in any way shape or form. broward?
I don't remember Broward wanting to move anywhere out of Portland... of course, last I talked careers with him, EEngineer, Broward and I were drinking at the time, and I certainly could have mis-heard. But hey, he'll show up here and tell you himself.
Comrade Alexei Mikhailovich wrote:
I tried to highlight the last sentence but the applet has some flaws. I consider this statement key:
Around half the jobs lost in the euro zone in the past two years took place in Spain
EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
funny but i don't think that is happening this time. most firms did their layoffs big earlier in the year and kept the staff they currently have to have some semblance of a business. there still is not the work to fill the time of the remaining staff. this is true at our firm and just about any other i talk to. the seriousness of the situation can be read on the faces of just about everyone in the profession. there is just not enough work to go around.
picosec wrote:
Here's your test case: * * * BANK OWNED * OWNER OCCUPIED * DO NOT APPROACH * NEWER HOME * NO LANDSCAPING * ALL BUYERS MUST BE PRE-QUALIFIED W/ SELLERS MORTGAGE BROKER PRIOR TO OFFERS BEING SUBMITTED * SEE PRIVATE REMARKS *
Who wants to be the stranger approaching the door?
metabear
what do you think about soig's story about the architecture firm in SoCal that is busy-busy, but slow to hire?
metabear wrote:
Yeah, that'd shoot big holes in Broward's "productivity dispersement" plan. Can you imagine if everyone switched to a 4 day workweek and still no new hires were necessary?
Rob Dawg wrote:
Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word; I do not think it means what you think it means.
The next socialist utopia to fall...
Latin American Herald Tribune - Unemployment Still Rising in Spain
metabear wrote:
This was also my impression. Much of this firm's current work is for Chinese projects. I warned my friend that China's construction bubble will probably burst in the next 1-2 years. Icon Review - News Archive
Still, they have a lot of paying clients. When the Chinese boom blows out, will architects be hoping for natural disasters? Even Katrina didn't produce a giant amount of demand for architects. I'll bet Chile doesn't either.
EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
Fun stuff, EHP I really enjoyed that even though a couple sections were a little frustrating.
BTW, my "test IQ" came out exactly 2 points lower than what I predicted my IQ to be.
At least I know who I am.
it's China
can't they just copy existing designs and repurpose them?
Rob Dawg wrote:
Many bandos will pretend to be renters.
I happen to know someone who is still living in an already foreclosed home they originally owned. I'll update on the story as it progresses.
EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
For whatever reason, they don't want everything to look alike. I could see this being a real hazard in a country were most office space is less than 15 years old. They actively seek foreign architectural firms.
I'm bold enough to bring up again the consequences of this real simple formula. Have a look at the chart in this section of the article if you want an easy graphical depiction.
The Retirement Lottery - Credit Writedowns
...
The accounting identity
In order to be able to explain the forces at work here, I need to take you back to the class room again for a minute or two. Please stay with me! Paramount to understanding what is currently going on and what is likely to happen over the next several years is the following equation, also known as the national income accounting identity:
G – T = (M – X) + (Y – T – (C + I))
where G – T equals the government balance (spending less taxes), M – X is net foreign capital inflows (the mirror image of the current account deficit which is usually expressed as X – M or exports minus imports) and Y – T – (C + I) equals net private savings (national income less taxes less the sum of all private investments and consumption). Our economic adviser Woody Brock has put 50 years of US national income history together in chart 6 below.
Chart 6: The three financial balances (as a % of GDP)
Every year the sum of the three parts must, and do, equal zero. There is not other way! The implications of this simple accounting identity are startling. Take the US economy. In 2009 the government deficit was about 11% of GDP. Net foreign capital inflows equalled about 3% and private savings totalled about 8%.
Now, if the US (or Greece or Spain or the UK or dozens of other countries for that matter) want to reduce their government deficit to a more manageable 3%, as a result of the above accounting identity, there must either be a huge swing in the US trade balance with the rest of the world, or the savings rate must collapse (or a combination of the two). As long as most Asian countries continue to get away with cheating their way to riches by keeping their foreign exchange rates at artificially low levels, a big improvement in the current account deficit is not likely to happen. And, as the experience from Japan has taught us, once you are in a balance sheet recession, savings are not likely to collapse any time soon.
The deficit hawks need to understand what this means. Had our governments not stimulated aggressively, we would now be in the midst of the mother of all depressions. Only pupils of the Austrian school of economics would have found some satisfaction in that. In the last 100 years, we have two clear-cut cases of premature spending cuts where the government thought it was out of the woods and cut back on its spending before the private sector had finished repairing its balance sheet. It happened in the United States back in 1937 and again in Japan in 1997. In both instances, the economy went into a tailspin.
...
Dawg,I like mediterranean style homes and it does have good fields of fire,but PHELAN!
screenplay idea
living the bando life
reality tv show
would be a huge hit. it's topical, it's got the rubbernecking factor, it makes the audience feel better about themselves or it will enrage them -- in either case it is a cathartic addiction, there is curiosity, a bookend to flip-my-house, it's new, the production costs are cheap, plenty of material to work with
would shop it around widely
but then sell it to someone who wants to keep it off the air, most return on the least work
RE wrote:
It's all about politics and not about economic equations. The same people who are complaining about the debt now voted for two wars, two tax cuts for the rich and Medicare Part D for pharma, all without even pretending to pay for any of it.
The fact that we did not plunge into a depression is actually something for which the government can take credit, though no credit is likely to be given.
some investor guy wrote:
when the oceans rise, millions are displaced and new infrastructure is needed, we architects will be returned to our rightful place as Gods.
TJ and The Bear wrote:
that would accurately describe our office.
EHP wrote:
They could endorse the best stuff to steal.
Tips on living without power or water.
Best places to sell copper pipe and wiring.
Dealing appliances through craigslist.
Tom Stone wrote:
You should see the stinkers I rejected before presenting that gem. The Antelope Valley is going to be a disaster for years to come. Still, imagine trying to canvas these places with nothing more than a clipboard. Scary.
EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
actually, in China people are far more progressive and open to new architectural ideas. the US not so much.
Tom Stone wrote:
Anywhere North of the mountains is better than South of them. Less ammo needed.
metabear wrote:
Arrests after Shanghai tower collapse | Stuff.co.nz
How did those horizontal sky-rise work out for them?
edit: I'm just /snarking lightly. Like most here, I know the Asian airports kick most in the West into a cocked hat.
Tom Stone wrote:
case in point (no offense TS).
metabear wrote:
I hear this complaint frequently from architects, that most of the really interesting stuff is done outside of the US.
sportsfan wrote:
What is particularly interesting to me is that the present political climate WILL affect the result of this formula materially and investment implications are interesting, to say the least.
lol, sales are up! the market is strong! little do they know the die hath been cast
Jonathan wrote:
I have some fantastic photos of that collapse. It had more to do with the construction methods (piling dirt in the wrong place) than anything else. The Chinese building and structural codes are actually quite advanced. It's the implementation in the field that fails.
RE wrote:
Key words being "now be in the midst", since all we've done is delay -- and aggravate -- the inevitable.
metabear wrote:
I was just poking fun at their current way of doing things, I do know everyone is trying to push the envelope, but there was a practical undertone to my comment
you might enjoy CHINA | Supertall Projects & Construction - Page 47 - SkyscraperCity
tg wrote:
Wow... That article is really spooky... This is definitely the calm before the storm.. I'm trying to picture the US economy in five years. People under 40 Twittering to find work, government wages cut by half, China with a strong Reserve Currency... the locus of power shifting to Asia. .... Only because things will be so bad here. But for now, 'party on, Garth!'
TJ and The Bear wrote:
Well, there are degrees of the inevitable. Ignoring a simple formula just increases the speed and extent of the decline.
yossarian wrote:
have we hit the iceberg yet? hat tip the oil drum
How the Men Reacted as the Titanic and Lusitania Went Under - NY Times
Yes, there's some deeper questions here.
I did update my prev post in the nick of time. I deeply admire the Asian airports. Also, the Olympic facilities were fantastic, though maybe now white elephants as many other Olympics.
As far as implementation, the earthquake in 2008 showed up some of the corruption in building of schools, municipal building etc., with all kinds of structure failing catastrophically when they should have stayed up, due to cheap materials, shoddy building.
Maybe some good will come of that, though people forget very quickly when faced with money.
RE wrote:
No one follows my investment advice, probably because they don't like my politics. Interesting reversal of cause and effect.
What the current political climate will bring about is just another swing of the pendulum. For all my ranting, I really just watch it swing back and forth. I know how the story ends. The little guy gets hurt.
There are just no opportunities out there to start over at something else. Maybe leaving my job that I hated which was killing me was a bad idea.
YouTube - Я очень рад, ведь я, наконец, возвращаюсь домой
Pavel, as the above video shows, Russia has a lot of explaining to do.
RE wrote:
Sure, you hit bottom quicker and then bounce back up.
Following that simple formula just increases the length and cumulative severity.
I'd rather get it over quickly myself.
I helped take the 1980 Census. I felt under-qualified, as a mere college student. But then I didn't...
Hoopajoops LTD wrote:
You're alive, aren't you? You might actually be a lot more alive today than any time in recent memory.
Jonathan wrote:
There are different types and levels of infrastructure. Many Asian cities have the fancy airports, trains and convention centers but lack the layer of infrastructure that impacts our lives the most. This would be an infrastructure where I could wake on a Sunday morning and use a public tennis court, basketball court, hang at a cafe for half a day..... Hong Kong is an exception.
Hoopajoops LTD wrote:
Why did you leave before finding something else? Or before deciding what you wanted to do?
TJ and The Bear wrote:
Or you just hit bottom quicker and bleed out.
Hoopajoops LTD wrote:
There are just no opportunities out there to start over at something else. Maybe leaving my job that I hated which was killing me was a bad idea.
Yes... you may not achieve smart amoral scumbag enlightenment in this life now. Oh well - there's always next incarnation.
So Chris "Hardball" Matthews asked Dodd ("one of [his] favorite Senators") twice- point blank- why the consumer financial protection agency should be housed within the Fed. He even played the clip in which Dodd called the Fed's consumer protection an "abysmal failure".
But Senator bank shill
squirmed out of any answer, saying "there are good things in the bill..."
TJ and The Bear wrote:
There are well known deflationary spirals and unless you heed the formula they likely don't stop.
Repeat: US Dodd:Powers of Consumer Protect Entity Most Import | iMarketNews.com
Hoopajoops LTD wrote:
Man, you just got no faith. Use some of that high powered brain stuff and look at yourself as a stranger. What do you think that person might do? In this whole wide world you can't find something to do? You know it's got to be a mental block. I don't know what the best way to shake it loose is-- but think about it. What are the odds that there's nothing better than going to a job you hate.
(Personally, I think you might take a little of that cash and do as others have suggested: travel. Somewhere, anywhere. Yeah I know you traveled while working, but this will be for you.)
some investor guy writes:
Why did you leave before finding something else? Or before deciding what you wanted to do?
The job was so intense and draining that it had a kind of deadly gravity to it. It was a trap. It would take all of your time, but it would also crush your soul. Doing that job was like being in some sort of mineshaft; the world around you would dim, a kind of tunnel vision would emerge, and all options would seem to vanish. The job had a strange way of inspiring hopelessness and incubating delusions of incompetence.
It was a fucked up place to be. Now, I looked for a while while on the job, and found nothing. I figured I'd have more time to sort things out and that given more time to devote to the task, I'd find more opportunities. But there really isn't anything worthwhile out there, even with all the time in the world to chase a few limited leads.
OT: big brother is watching you: Rat out a tax cheat, collect a reward
15% of the amount shorted, up to 10$ million.
I'd have more respect for Bunning if he led the spending cut charge by saying, "TARP was a mistake. Let's claw it back."
McCain would be on board, and any Democrat afraid for their incumbency. Telling the unemployed they're cut off right afer serving up trillions to the bankers doesn't cut it. Where was the filibuster then?
Never go to a job you hate unless you have no other way to feed dependents, or you're performing a great public service.
Don't be afraid to create your own job.
ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:
I miss NaRm. (sniff)
I hope he's okay.
RE wrote:
Inflation and deflation are both self-reinforcing forces, but they do stop.
The only way you truly recover is clearing the debt load and rectifying resource misallocation, the opposite of what occurs under this Keynesian claptrap.
Japan's following that "simple formula" to a T, and all they've done is prolong their pain until the point where they ultimately default. Lucky for us (
) we'll get there much sooner.
1 currency now -yogi wrote:
This is not his first day. There are few things more difficult to pin down than an experienced politician, especially one as experienced as Dodd.
We call them idiots, and rightfully so when it comes to myopic political thinking, but those guys have a different skill-set that really does need to be respected. I'm not shilling for them, just stating the obvious.
Hoopajoops LTD wrote:
You do realize you're in a select group of at least 15 million people in America and perhaps twice that many.
Among your advantages is age. There's a reason the census test was being taken by a bunch of old guys.
Either you will find something worthwhile or there will be nothing worthwhile for anyone ever, in which case it's not on you.
Even Bush II had a great manner about him and a preternatural ability to remember the names of people he'd met briefly 5 years before.
That's a pretty awesome skillset viewed by an aspie type engineer who forgets names inside of 30 seconds.
sportsfan wrote:
THAT's cheery!
I miss hearing from dc1000
edit: noob in case you haven't logged off, a few comics, Hark, a vagrant: 250
noob goldberg wrote:
Oh, they're skilled all right, but I'd respect Bunning, Dodd and a few others a lot more if they just resigned.
TJ and The Bear wrote:
Hey, I'm one of the optimists around here.
Elliott offers to take Novell private for $2 bln
| Reuters
Wierd...this company has been a floating wreck for years...
""Over the past several years, the company has attempted to diversify away from its legacy division with a series of acquisitions and changes in strategic focus that have largely been unsuccessful," Elliott said in a letter addressed to the Novell board.
"As a result, we believe the company's stock has meaningfully underperformed all relevant indices and peers," Elliott added."
EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
I miss hearing that he and family survived the crash. He was pretty despondent there for a while.
I hope he focused on the youngsters and I would say that again to anyone in his situation.
What the hell happened to dc1000? Did things turn out OK for him?
Hoops,
"We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different."
Kurt Vonnegut - Wikiquote
I swear, that page is essential reading for almost any endeavor of man, woman, child or pet.
No better summary exists.
Jonathan wrote:
Wow, that is good.
Oh, he has a fine speaking voice and a fine head of hair...
There's nothing inherently wrong with being a skilled orator/debater/shill.The fact that your father was a powerful politician doesn't automatically disqualify you from being a good person. The consumer/borrower/union worker isn't always right.
But please don't ask me to respect him for being clever. Dodd is retiring, and it's pretty clear he wants a payoff down the line. Again, this was the only idea from the Administration that I've been impressed with, and I said so at the time. But no filibuster is even needed for the Democratic leadership to roll over for the bank lobby.
Jonathan wrote:
Yup. A great fiction writer.
I believe that he last reported that he was administering something like a private school. He was quite upbeat at that time. perhaps 4-6 months ago.
dc1000 got back up on his feet quickly
from owner/operator of a RRE building company to head of a private school (along those lines)
think he might even hung on to a few DC-area lots that could have had a nice bounce in value post corporate BK
what I appreciate most was his deadpan honesty, I think viewing the world through his eyes as he rode along a roller coaster made me a little bit stronger as a person
Hoopajoops LTD wrote:
I don't know how things turned out eventually, but his RE work and the rest of his world seemed to come crashing down.
As I recall, he was short of friends, out of money, in debt, rather hopeless and with small kids in the home (for the moment at least). He was very uncertain that there would be anything good in the near future and didn't know how to play the manly provider he had been when he stopped providing.
Edit add-on: Well, I'm happy to see the comments from picosec and EHP. I didn't read that myself from dc1000, but I'm glad to hear he didn't keep spiraling down.
TJ and The Bear wrote:
No they didn't.
Sounds like he landed on his feet, then.
EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
Yes, and it was definitely a roller coaster. He joined us so optimistic, had his world ripped asunder, and then put something together again to move forward. Quite the story, really, and we've been witness to it.
I hope so, but he had a serious health issue.
sportsfan wrote:
Last I remember he recovered quite well and left his drinking behind him. Found a new job with management responsibilities he very much liked.
EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
Yeah, after he had a talk with dryfly. Not sayin' there's a cause and effect thing, but that's who I'd pick for advice, too.
But for fairy stories, it's the Dawg everytime.
I'm already bored with Spain. Can we get this show moving and skip straight to the UK?
RE wrote:
Close enough -- running up huge debts building bridges to nowhere and for what?
Their problem is more demographic-oriented, but QE is still never a cure, only trading more debt for time and thus digging a bigger hole.
Oxtail wrote:
I'm telling you its the Netherlands next. They played banker to all the eurozombies. Banks with big exposures but no large backstop like Germany.
Glad to hear dc1000 made it back to wherever he made it back. I missed that part of the story, but I'm glad to see so many here caught it. What do you folks do, read this board every day????
sdtfs, I went long and passionately with him also. I'm know others here did as well.
TJ and The Bear wrote:
There is a huge difference between private and public debt if it is in your own currency. That distinction is key. Look at the formula, it is simple and telling.
Oxtail wrote:
Oh, come on, the UK will be a total bore -- all that "stiff upper lip" stuff.
Now Greece, Italy, Spain... hell, even France, we're starting to see some serious fireworks going on there. The German unions are getting frisky as well.
RE wrote:
The key difference being that it bought them 20 years we won't have. Otherwise, still a big old hole.
Yeah but they're famous for not spending.
Even the old people ride their bikes everywhere. And they have no problem with whole streets underwater...
sportsfan wrote:
No, dc1000 did the sensible thing and went to meet dryfly in person to kickstart his comeback. He would have probably succeeded anyway, but it was a symbolic rejection of his despair (which he had set a time limit on anyway!) and a first step out of his self imposed rut.
Neighborhood paper has a question they ask of one of their interviewees each week: 10 people (dead or alive) you'd like to invite to dinner.
Which 5 (or 10) CR commentariat would you have at your dinner party? (Not looking for names really, just a thought exercise). We've got it all here: poets, philosophers, comedians, broken records, investment gurus, Canadians(
) , etc, etc,.
And then average schmoes like me.
Anyone know whether Doctors Without Borders has a reputation for the same good work in Chile as in Haiti and elsewhere?
Jas, Werner, Michael, Lucifer, ...and CSC, with his gear.
Uncle Ar wrote:
That's easy, the girls. I get enough of you guys as it is.
Many interesting characters: my list would include JD, mp, pavel, jas, vonbek, among others.
Get Ready for the Gut Wrenching...
" The Federal Reserve on March 1 announced that Donald Kohn would retire in June 2010, the end of his four-year term as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. The retirement leaves three spots to be filled on the seven-member Board of Governors. The FT reports that possible candidates for the post of vice chairman include Obama administration economic advisers such as Christina Romer, Austan Goolsbee and even Larry Summers, according to BoA-ML economists, or Fed insiders such as board member Daniel Tarullo, Director of Monetary Affairs Brian Madigan or San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen. BoA-ML said academic choices could include Michael Woodford of Columbia University or Greg Mankiw of Harvard University."
from Roubini's email blast today.
Larry Summers, a possible member of Fed Res Board of Governors.
Instead of the guillotine, the guy gets a royal crown.
Hoopajoops LTD wrote:
The best, most insightful job/career advice I've ever received was when a colleague said "You know these people who get pissed off and quit ... they've got it all wrong. The worst thing you can do to the company is stick around collecting paychecks."
Think about it.
A left cross, with weight:
Fafblog! the whole world's only source for Fafblog.
"The worst thing you can do to the company is stick around collecting paychecks."
Don't you worry. I milked that job for all it was worth.
Bubblisimo Gerkinov wrote:
I'm selfish. I want to be happy. I could give a shit what happens to the company when I leave. (Other than a mild feeling of satisfaction when I hear about how bad it's gotten since I've left.)
1 currency now -yogi wrote:
I wanted to give him a little more time before I pasted this on him:
YouTube - Stevie Wonder - You Haven't Done Nothin'
Avast, foul beasts that lurk in the deeps of traders' records, dive, for the light is coming:
U.S. Said to Tell Hedge Funds to Save Euro Trading Records - Bloomberg.com
C
TJ and The Bear wrote:
No, it would be a confirmation.
There is not enough work to go around.
Surely that's obvious by now?
If work is not scarce, why are countries fighting over who gets it?
Hey Bro Ward.
Living in Redmond and born in Kirkland, maybe I'll meet you some day at McFaddens.
Keep up the good work!
speed racer wrote:
I was at McFadden's (Portland) on Friday at midnight, perhaps five customers.
Barracuda's was better, close to 100 or 1/2 of its 2004 crowd.
But the Boiler Room was crowded for karaoke.
I met an Austrian intern who was working at Nike on... golf ball designs. A frighteningly narrow career path.
Maybe they don't understand that you mean work that gets paid.
With few exceptions, the amount of work required to produce a given level of value to be consumed is shrinking. (It takes more work to set the world weightlifting record.) Since we're conditioned to view work in discrete units of productivity we label jobs, when the work shrinks, we cut jobs. Unless you're lucky enough to be part of a workforce that's fought for a share of the benefits when jobs are eliminated (over centuries), you're out in the cold.
Supposedly, the almost-striking French air traffic controllers get as much as 30 weeks' vacation. Even if that's the case, who's to say it's wrong without knowing the wage, the skill and training required, and the limits of human alertness? At least part of the equation is how many crashes they fail to avert compared to other systems.
1 currency now -yogi wrote:
Almost everyone is conditioned to view everything from the investor / producer side of the equation. But once I wrote out the macro equations, it was easy to see. I already knew the history of the workweek, shrinking from 60 to 40 hours since 1865.
production == consumption
and
work hours X rate of production == leisure hours x rate of consumption
and
work hours + leisure hours = 24 hours (setting the metric to one man / one day).
If production rises for the same # of workhours, consumption has to rise to match it, in the same # of consumption hours.
Eventually production overwhelms consumption (how many cars can you drive, houses can you live in, meals can you eat?)
Production hours have to decrease.
The illusion is the debt that's built upon the assumption of a 40-hour workweek.
That's the real problem that people can't see past.
The illusion is largely pumped into real estate prices. If your workweek is reduced 25%, and RE costs fall by the same amount, you're able to consume more goods & services, which is what's wrong right now.
Every country wants to fix their economy by "increasing exports" but nobody wants to fix it by "increasing imports".
That can't be successful.
But it tells you what the real problem is.
A system that's based on consumption but doesn't support the means of producing consumption soon arrives at the point of diminishing returns. Consumer credit - borrowing against future production - isn't the answer to insufficient production.
In other words, you can't have a consumer economy if you deprive the consumers of the means of earning the credits to consume with.
In one of my former fields, the judicial branch, the work doesn't tend to shrink much.
The volume goes up and down of course, and every time a decision is rendered after a hearing a precedent is set. Theoretically, more precedents means more cases can be decided without as much work, and fewer cases may be brought based on the rule created by the decision. But judges (and the help) must absorb more knowledge of the cases, and be able to recognize when to distinguish a new set of facts. The same level of work is always required to decide a novel issue.
Digital coding makes research much easier and faster, but in reality every published opinion and law was indexed by key word or phrase long before computers. You could argue that the manual system had advantages, since intelligence was applied to the indexing work. (Tradeoff when it was applied poorly.)
Sometimes work is reduced by not having each party represented by an attorney. Many foreign systems have the judge assume some of the prosecutorial or defense functions. This doesn't mean the same value is realized. More cases resolved faster doesn't necessarily result in more justice.
Most judges and many lawyers try to add to their store of knowledge and decision-making skills even on weekends and vacations or after mandatory retirement (70, in NY, despite a legal challenge in court). Few judges would volunteer, of course, to do the weekend arraignment shift (24/7) even if they thought the case might be intellectually stimulating. It seems fairly easy to separate the mental from physical work in the law but not always.
Volunteers currently handle the vast majority of Small Claims work (<$5000.01) and usually the parties that insist on seeing a judge in those cases do it strictly as a delaying tactic.
Perhaps you could find enough volunteers (lawyers) to decide every case in the system, at great saving to the State. There is no test for an elected or appointed judge, so some volunteers would no doubt do a "better" job than some judges. They'd certainly do better than the local strongman (Solomonic legend notwithstanding) who historically held court.
We already have a Senate of millionaires, and they're mostly not overpaid baseball players. So who's the Senator for the unemployed and homeless? It was recognized by even the judges in England centuries ago that their work would suffer in quality if they all came from the same social class and schools. It's unbelievably hard to keep money from influencing the judiciary. One way is to make the salary somewhat competitive and hours reasonable.
In Broward's field, any sane system should attempt to avoid reinventing the wheel but should reward a better mousetrap. You can't measure value added by how many hours the programmer spent writing and you can't let Bill Gates monopolize the profits from developing a system that is most effective if a majority of consumers share it. He didn't invent Al Gore's internet.
Flexibility and balance in the reward structure is valuable. Maybe a mandated 32-hour week solves a free-rider problem in labor-intensive fields (they're shrinking) that generally match hours to added value. You still have to figure out what wage x 32 arrives at the desirable purchasing power. As the Ethiopian whose village farmland was leased to an Indian corporation knew, a 30% raise is murderous if the price of rice triples.
yogi, interesting food for thought from you this morning.
did you seen the article on Bloomberg yesterday about 400,000 farmers outside of Damascus as refugees from drought? Their wheat crop failed 2 years in a row, they have little water but just 30 miles away is an irrigated golf course. They went from net exporters of wheat to net importers. I think the most wealthy are so disconnected from what is critical to maintaining the basics of living life, their food sources, their ability to earn without any true labor or value to society we won't see anything change until they are personally affected. It will take the mother of all crises for that to happen as they have insulted themselves perfectly politically, financially and not just in the US.
SC may gut programs for 26,000 disabled residents - Yahoo! News
By JIM DAVENPORT, Associated Press Writer Jim Davenport, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 8 mins ago
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Lawmakers are considering cutting all services for nearly 26,000 people with disabilities as South Carolina tries to plug a $560 million budget hole.
Parents say the proposed cuts to day care programs and other services would force them to give up much-needed jobs to stay home and care for their young and adult children.
Andrew J. Imparato, chief executive of the American Association of People with Disabilities, said he is hearing horror stories about budget cuts around the country, but South Carolina is the most extreme example. Shutting down everything but federally required residential care is "the most draconian kind of thing I've heard," he said.
.....
Other states, like Oklahoma and California, are also cutting services for people with disabilities, but the changes are minor in comparison. Advocates say the South Carolina cuts are shortsighted because they eliminate early-intervention programs that could help prevent more expensive problems down the road.
In Aiken County, Board of Disabilities Executive Director Ralph Courtney says budget cuts in the current fiscal year already have forced him to shut down programs that offer in-home help for parents of children ages 3 to 5 who have disabilities including autism or at risk of developing them. The need for help is "generally decreased if you get to them soon enough," Courtney said.
The state Department of Disabilities and Special Needs estimates that at $9,000 to $13,000 a year, providing in-home services for people with disabilities is less expensive than sending them to an institution or group home, where full-time care costs between $28,500 and $114,000 annually.
......
Nanoo-Nanoo wrote:
This is the conclusion I'm beginning to draw. Like Agent Sands in Once Upon a Time in Mexico (Johhny Depp) "The system needs a good revolution....one giant enema to clease everything".
Yeah, when I was in Israel this summer they were more concerned with the Galilee drying up than with Iran.
I've never been to Syria and don't know many Syrians (been to Egypt and Jordan). From what I read read are under the thumb of the Assad dictatorship[s].
There is a lot of diversion IMO about the impact of too many people and too little in resources. Oil and the political connected with it, food (ethanol) connected with energy and the AGW debate have muted the larger and more immediate threats to millions if not billions.
Fresh drinking water, water for growing ever higher producing crops is the largest immediate problem that is on my radar screen. Its a threat in our resource rich nation too where there are huge populations in smaller spaces of people and the infrastructures to support basic needs were not updated to meet demand.
When living in Atlanta during the 80s and 90s it wasn't a matter of if there would be summer water restrictions, it was a matter of WHEN and how profound it would be. People were more worried about their landscaping and shiny cars, luxurious golf course greens, than assuring there was water for the fields to grow food to the south of them. To me, it appears the world has gone mad and lost basic common sense.