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[URL]http://www.mercer.com/newsroom/cost-of-living-survey.html[/URL]
#86 Buenos Aires.
#88 Bangkok.
If you discount #1 Luanda, Angola and #2 N'Djamena, Chad for obvious reasons (out of the major business cities loop), it is Hong Kong for #1. Followed by Singapore, Zurich, Geneva, Tokyo, Bern, Moscow, Shanghai, Beijing, London. This is a study aim at expatriates whose needs are quite different from the local population. So take that into consideration.
They must be using INDEC's data because Buenos Aires should be much higher on that list!
[URL]http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2014/07/27/is-the-fed-fueling-a-giant-stock-market-bubble/13172261/[/URL]
The Dow keeps climbing. It has been very nice for me. But sometimes, you kind of wonder what is really going on. Since the beginning of the year, I've been thinking of retreating to the sidelines, wait for the eventual downturn, then climb aboard again. But then, I'm not really a hit & run guy. Anybody else in the same boat?
[QUOTE=RevBS;440626][URL]http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2014/07/27/is-the-fed-fueling-a-giant-stock-market-bubble/13172261/[/URL]
The Dow keeps climbing. It has been very nice for me. But sometimes, you kind of wonder what is really going on. Since the beginning of the year, I've been thinking of retreating to the sidelines, wait for the eventual downturn, then climb aboard again. But then, I'm not really a hit & run guy. Anybody else in the same boat?[/QUOTE]My philosophy for over a year is that the market would be propped up through the mid term elections in November. If the stock market tanks any time soon, Democrats have no chance to hold the Senate and take over the House. So until election time, no real correction will take place. After that, no clue.
Yeah, that's right, It's from the NY Times. Throw it in the trash. We don't want to know.
[URL]http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/06/upshot/alarm-on-income-inequality-from-a-mainstream-source.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0[/URL]
Reverend, Respectfully, the people likely to be throwing that in the trash are on the left. The root causes of the problem are technology and globalization. The people at S&P rightly point out that education is the solution. Politicians on the left, at the local, state and federal levels, must start standing up to the teacher's unions and improve the quality of schools. Easy-to-get, government-subsidized loans for liberal arts educations, which have enabled universities to raise tuition to ridiculous levels, should be eliminated. Students should be encouraged to learn skills that they can actually use and to undertake marketable trades and professions. There is a correlation between childhood poverty and success later in life. Republicans and Democrats should give more consideration to helping poor children, instead of subsidizing seniors who are already wealthier than everyone else.
I'm not sure whether it's S&P or the NYT reporter that contends our problem is too much savings / investment and not enough consumption. But I suspect both you and I would agree that's a load of crap. The USA has a big problem in that there's not enough savings. We're depending on China and other countries to pay for investment in our country. We consume more than we produce. Savings is a huge problem for the middle class. Someday people are going to retire, intending to rely on social security, and discover nothing's there.
[QUOTE=Tiny12;440743]Reverend, Respectfully, the people likely to be throwing that in the trash are on the left. The root causes of the problem are technology and globalization. The people at S&P rightly point out that education is the solution. Politicians on the left, at the local, state and federal levels, must start standing up to the teacher's unions and improve the quality of schools. Easy-to-get, government-subsidized loans for liberal arts educations, which have enabled universities to raise tuition to ridiculous levels, should be eliminated. Students should be encouraged to learn skills that they can actually use and to undertake marketable trades and professions. There is a correlation between childhood poverty and success later in life. Republicans and Democrats should give more consideration to helping poor children, instead of subsidizing seniors who are already wealthier than everyone else.
I'm not sure whether it's S&P or the NYT reporter that contends our problem is too much savings / investment and not enough consumption. But I suspect both you and I would agree that's a load of crap. The USA has a big problem in that there's not enough savings. We're depending on China and other countries to pay for investment in our country. We consume more than we produce. Savings is a huge problem for the middle class. Someday people are going to retire, intending to rely on social security, and discover nothing's there.[/QUOTE]You made some good points, we are not in total disagreement.
Big Banks & Big Multi-Nationals are the Empire Seekers of today. They are not beholden to any government. In third world countries, they are the government.
Obama has NOT been able to escape the patronage of the American election system. But in ObamaCare and Frank-Dodds, he has shown he is willing to rectify some imbalances, yet he has been vilified for them. Why? You don't think the educational loans have not been corrupted and exploited by the loan sharks. And now we are hearing of the sub-prime loans in the auto buying industry. Corruption like poverty is never ending. As I said before, it has been made legal in the US. And some of you seem to like it.
The US was dominant because of its middle class. The decline of the middle class is a part of the evolution of the world economy. There are many ways in which the government can stymie that decline, but we cannot do it because we are dysfunctional. Blanket opposition to Obama is the story here. Going to be 8 years of babbling and shouting. So silly!
As stated before, look in the mirror, and what do you see?
Rev, the government and Frank Dodd are two of the reasons the middle class is shrinking. Get the government out of the student loan and education business. If you have to give loans make them only to the HARD SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, ect. The types of degrees which are applicable to doing something and everyone doesn't need to go college what about the trade schools, we need people who can build and repair what the sciences and engineering folks come up with.
[QUOTE=Doppelganger;440753]Rev, the government and Frank Dodd are two of the reasons the middle class is shrinking. Get the government out of the student loan and education business. If you have to give loans make them only to the HARD SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, ect. The types of degrees which are applicable to doing something and everyone doesn't need to go college what about the trade schools, we need people who can build and repair what the sciences and engineering folks come up with.[/QUOTE]From A Chinaman's Chance by Eric Liu.
"American culture now has an excess of individualism, short term thinking, and prioritizing rights over duties".
Would you rather be on American Idol, or go study engineering at Purdue? Ah, a million dollar question. In the 70's, when I was playing basketball in LA, we play with some Chinese gang members. At least 50% were going to Cal State LA, about a 10 minute drive from Chinatown. Of course, some were hard-core.
[QUOTE=RevBS;440739]Yeah, that's right, It's from the NY Times. Throw it in the trash. We don't want to know.
[URL]http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/06/upshot/alarm-on-income-inequality-from-a-mainstream-source.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0[/URL][/QUOTE]Let me see: throw it in the trash because it's the NYTimes.
The article itself is about a report from economists at Standard and Poor's, hardly a left leaning institution.
Standard and Poor's is a pretty well established mainstream economic research firm. I for one would like to read what they say.
Good idea to throw it in the trash, Rev, you might learn something that would challenge a belief or something.
[QUOTE=Tiny12;440743] Easy-to-get, government-subsidized loans for liberal arts educations, which have enabled universities to raise tuition to ridiculous levels, should be eliminated. Students should be encouraged to learn skills that they can actually use and to undertake marketable trades and professions.[/QUOTE]Right on. The last thing we need is people who can think, people who have some broader understanding of the world, of history, of culture. We need trained, docile employees who can be relied on to not make waves, show up on time, and do what they're told.
[QUOTE=Tiny12;440743] subsidizing seniors who are already wealthier than everyone else.[/QUOTE]The only senior subsidy I can think of at the federal level is the additional personal exemption of $1200. A maximum value of about $475 a year and much less for most folks. OK, I suppose there are discounts on admissions to national parks but that could just be savvy pricing and not a subsidy. Big deal. Medicare certainly isn't a subsidy. Social Security (OASDI) is an anti-subsidy; its return diminishes the more years you work and thus with age. Other subsidies exist at the local level or are provided by private industry. Here some of the discounts or subsidies I get for being old:
1) My city, and most cities around here, charge non-residents more to use the facilities. These people never took cost accounting and have no concept of break-even point. But, I found a neighboring city that not only charges residents and non-residents the same, but gives a senior discount at age 55 vs. My city's age 62. $18 a month. Not surprisingly, the neighboring city does a healthy business while my city's facility is underutilized. However, the facility I use is not overcrowded during the hours I go there.
2) My state provides numerous silly discounts and few of them are means-tested. There is a $20,000 pension exclusion starting the year you turn 55 and then it goes to $24,000 at 65. Social Security, IRA withdrawals, IRA conversions, annuities, traditional pensions, etc. All qualify. There is a scheme whereby if you are 65 and low income (but could have assets out the ying yang), you never have to pay your property tax during your lifetime. It just creates a lienhold to be paid on sale or death. There is a similar scheme for utility bills but that one is means-tested.
3) 50% off on our transit system but it sucks so much it's not worth mentioning. I think this kicks in at 62 but it might be 65.
4) Albertson's gives 10% off the first Wednesday of the month at age 55 and they don't check I'd. Kohl's has a discount day that starts at 55 too.
5) AARP has the cheapest car rental rates. Check it out.
Now Tiny, you are ignoring an important point. Yes, seniors have lower poverty rates than the other two age brackets BUT they have a lot less opportunity to improve their situation! So looking at youth poverty vs. Senior poverty might not be as important as following the poverty rate for 19-64. That could be a better economic indicator. I think rather than being subsidies, a lot of these are marketing ploys.
[QUOTE=RevBS;440752]Obama has NOT been able to escape the patronage of the American election system. But in ObamaCare and Frank-Dodds, he has shown he is willing to rectify some imbalances, yet he has been vilified for them. Why?[/QUOTE]Because he's not very competent. Universal health care is very important. Taking health care costs from 16% to 20% of GDP without improving outcomes is not a good approach to accomplish this. And that's what's going to happen. Obama should have been listening to the guy from Taiwan that testified in front of the Congressional Committee that you provided the video for. Health care there costs 6.6% of GDP and outcomes are similar to the USA. However, instead Obama's creating a monster. Same with Dodd-Frank -- extremely important goals, but wrong approach. Obama, like lawyers in general, comes up with "solutions" that are inefficient and complicated beyond belief.
[QUOTE=RevBS;440752]You don't think the educational loans have not been corrupted and exploited by the loan sharks. And now we are hearing of the sub-prime loans in the auto buying industry. Corruption like poverty is never ending. As I said before, it has been made legal in the US. And some of you seem to like it. The US was dominant because of its middle class. The decline of the middle class is a part of the evolution of the world economy. There are many ways in which the government can stymie that decline, but we cannot do it because we are dysfunctional. As stated before, look in the mirror, and what do you see?[/QUOTE]I agree with what you wrote above. However, Obama is part of the disease, not the cure.
[QUOTE=RockinBob;440752]Right on. The last thing we need is people who can think, people who have some broader understanding of the world, of history, of culture.[/QUOTE]Right on. We need to educate lots of art history and philosophy majors. Then government can pay them to sit on their asses and do whatever it is that they do.
[QUOTE=Tiny12;440758]
Right on. We need to educate lots of art history and philosophy majors. Then government can pay them to sit on their asses and do whatever it is that they do.[/QUOTE]Think, mostly.
They inspire other men to act. Like say Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, who apply ideas into political movements, say. Tom Paine, who wrote pamphlets to rouse the colonists to action. George Washington, who led an army and fought for these ideas. The USA was born in a Revolution based on new ideas, that people had a right to self government, not depending on the whims of monarchs. Freedom. Liberty. Even hear those words? Just two centuries ago the western world was ruled by monarchs and the Catholic church.
Ideas change the face of the world.
Nowadays, nobody cares about thinking. That's why everybody is regressing back to being serfs. The Bill of Rights is nothing more than a piece of paper. Freedom and democracy just words.
Slaves used to fight to be free. Now, free men fight to be slaves. They go in debt up their eyeballs to get a marketable skill so they can get worked to death and still live at home with their parents. If they're lucky.
I really love The Big Lebowski.
LEBOWSKI.
My wife is not the issue here. I hope that my wife will someday learn to live on her allowance, which is ample, but if she doesn't, sir, that will be her problem, not mine, just as your rug is your problem, just as every bum's lot in life is his own responsibility regardless of whom he chooses to blame. I didn't blame anyone for the loss of my legs, some chinaman in Korea took them from me but I went out and achieved anyway. I can't solve your problems, sir, only you can.
Let's keep those Little Lebowski Urban Achievers coming, folks!
[QUOTE=Tiny12;440758]Because he's not very competent. Universal health care is very important. Taking health care costs from 16% to 20% of GDP without improving outcomes is not a good approach to accomplish this. And that's what's going to happen. Obama should have been listening to the guy from Taiwan that testified in front of the Congressional Committee that you provided the video for. Health care there costs 6.6% of GDP and outcomes are similar to the USA. However, instead Obama's creating a monster. Same with Dodd-Frank -- extremely important goals, but wrong approach. Obama, like lawyers in general, comes up with "solutions" that are inefficient and complicated beyond belief.
I agree with what you wrote above. However, Obama is part of the disease, not the cure.
Right on. We need to educate lots of art history and philosophy majors. Then government can pay them to sit on their asses and do whatever it is that they do.[/QUOTE]You are the only member of the "Gang that Cannot Shoot Straight" to acknowledge that Universal Healthcare and Dodd-Frank are important. The rest of the gang usually dismiss them as Marxist ideas.
I think you and I have the potential to solve all of America's ills. I know the perfect location, too. Food, massage, hot tubs and FS are available when we need a break or two.