The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

[Joe Bauer]

1 hour ago, Bob Ness said:

 

The homeless issue is a real problem but isn't caused so much by political issues as  skyrocketing real estate prices (which is why people are leaving - selling out their lifetime investments for many times their original cost). It's very easy to double your money in RE in Seattle in a few years. Vacation rentals have eliminated any rental market there was left. I ran into this in NY and DC also in my travels but it's much worse on the West Coast.

 

In my lifetime here on the West Coast the greatest life and society changing real life dynamic for millions of middle to poor income citizens has been the explosion of the cost of housing, especially rents.

Rent costs have gone up 400 to 500% AND MORE over a 30 year period, while incomes for over half of all Californians have only risen maybe 1/4th of that.

Years ago our own government issued family health budget advise that recommended a formula for family expenditures that suggested a rent or home buying expense of no more than 1/4th to 1/3rd of an entire monthly income.

If one earned $1,500 gross ( not take home ) monthly income ( millions did before the 1990's ) their rent costs should have been no more than $400 or $500 a month for them and their family to get by with decent, safe housing in decent safe areas of residency.

The reality now is that those $1,500 income jobs still only pay about $2,000 or slightly more gross ( again for 10's of millions of manual labor employed Californians ) but those $400 to $500 rentals are now $1800 to $2,500 a month for apartments ( one bedrooms for $1,800!) and WAY MORE for homes!

Housing and rental costs now take "entire take home pays" for millions and millions of American ( especially Californian ) workers! There's nothing left for all the other basics!

This real crushingly out of control and out of whack with real income rent robbery ( include trillions in student loan debt to boot )  has resulted in young people holding off getting married, having children, living on their own and instead having to live with parents into their thirties, not even considering the fantasy American dream of home ownership with people laughing when asked if they believe this is achievable.

Our adult children are in their thirties. They have college degrees. They happened to choose fields of study in college that do not equate into higher paying jobs such as engineering, medical, legal, business management , etc.

They have student loan debt still. They have struggled ever since they got out of college with not being able to afford rental housing. They both work and have worked full time jobs that pay $15 to $18 and even $20 an hour gross.

They have said the reason they have not married and had kids even into their thirties is they can't even afford to provide the basic living needs just for themselves! Both our children have had to live with us and share rents for most of their after college time.

We even need their shares to pay our rents ourselves!

We didn't buy a home here back before 1985 when you might find one for $125,000 to $150,000.

We never had enough for a down payment and mortgage payments on even that amount was a scare for us. We paid 5 to $600 a month for rent back then WITH KIDS! Purchasing a home in that price range would have tripled our housing expense.

Now, the same homes in our area that rented for $500 To $600 a month are $2600 to $3,700 a month now. And even in areas of California that are inland like Sacramento, Fresno, Stockton, etc, The rents are maybe only 10 to 15% cheaper.

I am not exaggerating the numbers here. Housing costs in California are insane and totally life changing for millions in their crushing economic and social effect.

So, move to a trailer park in Salina, Kansas or just outside of Paduka, Kentucky if you don't like the housing costs in Calif.?

I say to these critics...you move there!

Edited June 23, 2020 by Joe Bauer

[Steve Thomas]

1 hour ago, Joe Bauer said:

I am not exaggerating the numbers here. Housing costs in California are insane and totally life changing for millions in their crushing economic and social effect.

Joe,

When I lived in Colorado, there were two sayings:

1) There's two kinds of people who live in Colorado: millionaires, and those who work for them.

2) By the time I moved; in Aspen, the billionaires were moving in and kicking the millionaires out.

In Vail, the cost of land is so expensive, they can't afford to bury their dead. They have to truck them over to the Town of Minturn.

Land in Vail was running at $1,000,000 a square foot.

Steve Thomas

[Douglas Caddy]

Former Roger Stone prosecutor says DOJ exerted political influence to push for lighter sentence

Aaron Zelinsky said prosecutors were warned that "we could 'lose our jobs' if we did not toe the line."

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/former-roger-stone-prosecutor-says-doj-exerted-political-influence-push-n1231931?fbclid=IwAR2TT7ao8UmxCcF1njw9it4iT4tbi-Bj_V_OxDBtO2Z5fgB_PcxlJwF3DMs

[Douglas Caddy]

3 hours ago, W. Niederhut said:

So, if patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels, the Garden State ain't it.

But, frankly, I'm surprised to see Texas ranked way down at #47.

Texas has always seemed like a very conservative, pro-military place in my experiences there.  They even have highways named for Dubya Bush and the American Sniper.

When I moved back to Texas in 1979 every pickup truck had a rifle slung across the rear window. You weren't a masculine dude unless you traveled that way. I am not sure when that changed.

[Ron Bulman]

4 hours ago, W. Niederhut said:

So, if patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels, the Garden State ain't it.

But, frankly, I'm surprised to see Texas ranked way down at #47.

Texas has always seemed like a very conservative, pro-military place in my experiences there.  They even have highways named for Dubya Bush and the American Sniper.

They base it on military personnel/retirees/guard per 1000,  peace corps volunteers,  volunteers and more.  If they based it on rednecks who believe in God, guns and anybody that doesn't vote republican is a traitor I'm sure Tejas would be near the top. 

[Paul Brancato]

5 hours ago, Kirk Gallaway said:

It is good. If you have Netflix Paul, you should watch it.

Eric Weinstein in this interview talks about when he met Epstein and opines that Epstein is a "construct". Good, not too long.

 

Really good. Now I’m watching the Prince Andrew interview. My lord.

i have a weird story to share. A year or so ago I was with my then girlfriend in her Mill Valley house when there was a knock on the door. Now, she lived way the heck up a hill, and no one knocks there randomly. We opened it, and a nice looking gent with an English accent asked if we were the owners (she was) and if he might inquire if she knew anything about past owners. She knew a little.it had been owned by band members of Jefferson Airplane at one time. Then he asked about a particular former owner with the last name Maxwell. She said no, and then I jokingly mentioned the name Maxwell was in the news - Ghislaine Maxwell. Surprise - he informed us that one of Ghislaine’s sisters was at one time the owner, and they were trying to find Ghislaine, turning over every conceivable Rock. As an aside, it turns out that years ago I had met the guy who lived with her there, and am currently dating a woman who had been close friends with that guy and had visited him at that very address. Main conclusion - Ghislaine was hard to find, and I would assume that no one is very interested now in actually finding her. The Epstein story is clearly huge, and we have only seen the tip of a very large iceberg. I think Mr. Weinstein has that right. 

[Joe Bauer]

3 hours ago, Steve Thomas said:

Joe,

When I lived in Colorado, there were two sayings:

1) There's two kinds of people who live in Colorado: millionaires, and those who work for them.

2) By the time I moved; in Aspen, the billionaires were moving in and kicking the millionaires out.

In Vail, the cost of land is so expensive, they can't afford to bury their dead. They have to truck them over to the Town of Minturn.

Land in Vail was running at $1,000,000 a square foot.

Steve Thomas

The divide between our economic classes is wider than it has ever been.

California has areas of incredibly high wealth that are only miles from areas of great poverty.

I read that 85% of America's wealth is held by just 10% of it's population.

 

[James DiEugenio]

Filthy  Rich on Netflix is a limited hangout, at best.  Its James Patterson, so what do you expect?

As I recall there is no mention of Don and Bill Barr, Jean Luc Brunel, Mossad, Iran/Contra, or the Bronfmans.

The podcast sounds much better.

BTW, Whitney Webb I think reported that Acosta was pressured to take the deal with his defense.  Filthy Rich tries to make a heroine out of Acosta's representative when in fact she herself negotiated the softball terms.

Mark my words, one day there will be a blockbuster book on this case, which got shoved away by CV 19 and Minny. 

And I am not convinced about his death.

Edited June 24, 2020 by James DiEugenio

[Joe Bauer]

36 minutes ago, James DiEugenio said:

Filthy  Rich on Netflix is a limited hangout, at best.  Its James Patterson, so what do you expect?

As I recall there is no mention of Don and Bill Barr, Jean Luc Brunel, Mossad, Iran/Contra, or the Bronfmans.

The podcast sounds much better.

BTW, Whitney Webb I think reported that Acosta was pressured to take the deal with his defense.  Filthy Rich tries to make a heroine out of Acosta's representative when in fact she herself negotiated the softball terms.

Mark my words, one day there will be a blockbuster book on this case, which got shoved away by CV 19 and Minny. 

And I am not convinced about his death.

Agree.

[David Andrews]

Some useful asides about Epstein-Trump-Robert Maxwell, casinos, money laundering, fraud, and other delights -- at this podcast:

https://narativ.org/2020/06/14/merchant-of-death/

...And probably at links below also, though I haven't started the episodes on these pages yet:

https://narativ.org/2020/06/07/crime-of-the-century/

https://narativ.org/2020/03/10/secret-life-of-jeffrey-epstein-season-2/

Features commentary by Steve Hoffenberg, former Epstein partner in Towers Financial (also featured in Filthy Rich).  Hoffenberg says the sex ring and surveillance-blackmail business was protection for the financial chicanery and arms dealing.  This is the kind of thing you don't get in Filthy Rich, which is preoccupied with sexual victimology, like all of the media.  One might wonder whether....

Edited June 25, 2020 by David Andrews

[Bob Ness]

15 hours ago, Douglas Caddy said:

New Jersey is worst patriotic state in America, study finds.

https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2020/06/22/new-jersey-ranked-worst-patriotic-state-in-america-study-finds/

 

Most made though probably.

[Bob Ness]

7 hours ago, Paul Brancato said:

Really good. Now I’m watching the Prince Andrew interview. My lord.

i have a weird story to share. A year or so ago I was with my then girlfriend in her Mill Valley house when there was a knock on the door. Now, she lived way the heck up a hill, and no one knocks there randomly. We opened it, and a nice looking gent with an English accent asked if we were the owners (she was) and if he might inquire if she knew anything about past owners. She knew a little.it had been owned by band members of Jefferson Airplane at one time. Then he asked about a particular former owner with the last name Maxwell. She said no, and then I jokingly mentioned the name Maxwell was in the news - Ghislaine Maxwell. Surprise - he informed us that one of Ghislaine’s sisters was at one time the owner, and they were trying to find Ghislaine, turning over every conceivable Rock. As an aside, it turns out that years ago I had met the guy who lived with her there, and am currently dating a woman who had been close friends with that guy and had visited him at that very address. Main conclusion - Ghislaine was hard to find, and I would assume that no one is very interested now in actually finding her. The Epstein story is clearly huge, and we have only seen the tip of a very large iceberg. I think Mr. Weinstein has that right. 

Funny. An old friend of mine used to go up there and visit him from time to time. Guess he wouldn't give up the name or something and had a big blow out with the band. Think it's the same place.

[Bob Ness]

5 hours ago, James DiEugenio said:

Filthy  Rich on Netflix is a limited hangout, at best.  Its James Patterson, so what do you expect?

As I recall there is no mention of Don and Bill Barr, Jean Luc Brunel, Mossad, Iran/Contra, or the Bronfmans.

The podcast sounds much better.

BTW, Whitney Webb I think reported that Acosta was pressured to take the deal with his defense.  Filthy Rich tries to make a heroine out of Acosta's representative when in fact she herself negotiated the softball terms.

Mark my words, one day there will be a blockbuster book on this case, which got shoved away by CV 19 and Minny. 

And I am not convinced about his death.

I've been around a lot of interesting people but my God what a tar pit these people get accustomed to. Most of my experience with "upper crust" types has been ordinary and unremarkable. I was left feeling slimey just watching that show.

I have no doubt it was a limited hang out and it would be difficult to dig far enough to find the end of that cess pool.

Just curious... Why the take on Patterson? I found it kind of weird he was even in there. Did he produce it?

[Douglas Caddy]

15 hours ago, Paul Brancato said:

Really good. Now I’m watching the Prince Andrew interview. My lord.

i have a weird story to share. A year or so ago I was with my then girlfriend in her Mill Valley house when there was a knock on the door. Now, she lived way the heck up a hill, and no one knocks there randomly. We opened it, and a nice looking gent with an English accent asked if we were the owners (she was) and if he might inquire if she knew anything about past owners. She knew a little.it had been owned by band members of Jefferson Airplane at one time. Then he asked about a particular former owner with the last name Maxwell. She said no, and then I jokingly mentioned the name Maxwell was in the news - Ghislaine Maxwell. Surprise - he informed us that one of Ghislaine’s sisters was at one time the owner, and they were trying to find Ghislaine, turning over every conceivable Rock. As an aside, it turns out that years ago I had met the guy who lived with her there, and am currently dating a woman who had been close friends with that guy and had visited him at that very address. Main conclusion - Ghislaine was hard to find, and I would assume that no one is very interested now in actually finding her. The Epstein story is clearly huge, and we have only seen the tip of a very large iceberg. I think Mr. Weinstein has that right. 

Ghislaine Maxwell right now is living in Paris.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8444137/Jeffrey-Epsteins-fugitive-madam-Ghislaine-Maxwell-hiding-luxury-Paris.html

[Paul Brancato]

1 hour ago, Douglas Caddy said:

Ghislaine Maxwell right now is living in Paris.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8444137/Jeffrey-Epsteins-fugitive-madam-Ghislaine-Maxwell-hiding-luxury-Paris.html

So are the investigators useless, or compromised? I vote for the latter. The Brits have a great show called Line of Duty, about an anti corruption police unit investigating bent cops. Really great.