Bad Economic Predictions

For stuff that is general.
TheCatt
Site Admin
Posts: 57568
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 11:15 pm
Location: Cary, NC

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by TheCatt »

Image

Houses maybe getting cheaper soon?
It's not me, it's someone else.
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 70342
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by Leisher »

Doubtful, but I hope so.
Median age of 1st time homebuyers:

1980: 28 years old
1990: 30 years old
2000: 31 years old
2010: 32 years old
2024: 38 years old
If the graph below is true, then it would indicate that large family homes are probably not in demand. Most 50+ yos aren't shopping for those types of homes.

Image
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
TheCatt
Site Admin
Posts: 57568
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 11:15 pm
Location: Cary, NC

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by TheCatt »

Life expectancy is up 5 years over that time, so that's part of the increase. But yeah, housing prices are just wild. I looked this weekend out of curiosity, and, especially with mortgage rates, the prices are just dumb. We bought 15 years ago, and our house has 2.5x'ed in price. But we will have the same(ish) mortgage of about $1600/month (not including property tax, HOA, insurance). That would go nowhere today.
It's not me, it's someone else.
TheCatt
Site Admin
Posts: 57568
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 11:15 pm
Location: Cary, NC

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by TheCatt »

Image

Headline inflation data was tame (2.4% annualized), mostly due to import surge, so tariffs haven't hit yet. Well be interesting to see how this plays out over next 3-6 months, assuming the tariffs are still there, etc.
It's not me, it's someone else.
TheCatt
Site Admin
Posts: 57568
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 11:15 pm
Location: Cary, NC

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by TheCatt »

$15 is probably a little too high, but I'd rather it be too high than where it is now.
It's not me, it's someone else.
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 70342
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by Leisher »

TheCatt wrote: Wed Jun 11, 2025 2:55 pm $15 is probably a little too high, but I'd rather it be too high than where it is now.
Here is the real issue with the minimum wage. (See the charts below.)

You're giving minimum wage earners double the money claiming they can't live on the current minimum wage. Being real, these are teens and unskilled adults. We can pretend that isn't true, but it is.

Meanwhile, people living off of the same, less than $15 but more than current minimum, or not much more are grinding out a living while paying off student loan debt because "everyone MUST go to college", aren't getting shit.

A guy with student loans, a wife, a kid, and a mortgage who makes $24/hr doesn't give two shits about his teenage neighbor getting a 100% raise, except for the fact that it will piss him off.

And that's before accounting for the very real fact that the additional costs (plus a little extra for the stock holders) will be added onto the price of everything.

I'm not anti-minimum wage. I'm pro raise ALL wages.

Corporate profits have skyrocketed while wages are actually down. Don't worry though because taxes are up! So is the CPI, and it's above hourly wages.

All wages need to be raised to appropriate levels. Maybe not all doubled, but perhaps some gradual yet equal increase as you go from minimum wage to Elon Musk.

A business can't afford it? Then that business shouldn't exist. Sorry, not sorry. The American tax payer needs to stop being used to subsidize failing enterprises or poorly run corporations.

Image

Image
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
TheCatt
Site Admin
Posts: 57568
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 11:15 pm
Location: Cary, NC

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by TheCatt »

Image

I wonder who else could learn a lesson from this?
It's not me, it's someone else.
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 70342
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by Leisher »

TheCatt wrote: Sun Jul 06, 2025 2:30 pm I wonder who else could learn a lesson from this?
Zohran Kwame Mamdani

His first move if he wins will be to freeze all rent.
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
TheCatt
Site Admin
Posts: 57568
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 11:15 pm
Location: Cary, NC

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by TheCatt »

That's pretty much what I was thinking of. And of any rent control at all, anywhere.
It's not me, it's someone else.
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 70342
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by Leisher »

Imagine running a grocery store, but all of your prices are from 1940 and you're not allowed to raise them. You'd be out of business.

Rent control is nice for a tenant, but only as long as the apartment doesn't need repairs. The landlord has zero incentive to make upgrades and improvements because they're not making money. In fact, they actually have the incentive to make the apartment as inhospitable as possible to save themselves financially.

But we all know what happens if rent control is stopped here: "Racism! Ageism! Gentrification! Classism! Elitism!" Blah blah blah.

In different, "shit needs to change" news: The food social program should not buy people unhealthy items because that contributes to further costs in healthcare. I'm fine with a limited quantity of things like frozen items for quick meals, but nobody needs pop. It's insanely unhealthy and expensive.

Also, as one commentor points out, how does this incentivize changing one's situation? Every aspect of our social programs, and prisons for that matter, have made things far too comfortable. They should provide the basics, not luxury.
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 70342
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by Leisher »

"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
TheCatt
Site Admin
Posts: 57568
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 11:15 pm
Location: Cary, NC

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by TheCatt »

They have been for a while. They're headed towards 2nd world country status.
It's not me, it's someone else.
TheCatt
Site Admin
Posts: 57568
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 11:15 pm
Location: Cary, NC

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by TheCatt »

The consumer price index, a broad-based measure of goods and services costs, increased 0.3% on the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.7%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. The numbers were right in line with the Dow Jones consensus.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core inflation picked up 0.2% on the month, with the annual rate moving to 2.9%, also matching the respective estimates.
It's not me, it's someone else.
TheCatt
Site Admin
Posts: 57568
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 11:15 pm
Location: Cary, NC

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: Mon Jul 07, 2025 10:16 am
TheCatt wrote: Sun Jul 06, 2025 2:30 pm I wonder who else could learn a lesson from this?
Zohran Kwame Mamdani

His first move if he wins will be to freeze all rent.
Mamdani's wedding celebration -3 days at his family's Ugandan compound?
Socialist NYC mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani celebrated his recent nuptials with a lavish, three-day affair at his family’s ritzy, secluded Ugandan compound — complete with masked security guards and a cellphone jamming system, The Post has learned.

The gates of the bustling, private compound, which sits in the wealthy Buziga Hill area outside the capital city of Kampala, were heavily guarded by military-style, masked men this week, with guests streaming in and partying until midnight, according to sources in the town who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons.

Mamdani, 33, eloped with artist and animator Rama Duwaji, 27, in February.

He told his social media followers Sunday he was heading to his homeland to celebrate with his wealthy filmmaker mom and professor dad, who own the Buziga Hill property.

The neighborhood is home to some of Uganda’s richest, including billionaire businessman Godfrey Kirumira, a city tycoon with stakes in real estate, tourism, petroleum and infrastructure, and houses neighboring the Mamdanis easily fetch more than $1 million.
...
A native of Kampala, Mamdani moved to New York when he was 7, becoming a U.S citizen in 2018. He’d announced his marriage to Duwaji, an illustrator, earlier this year. The pair met on the dating app, Hinge and now share a rent-stabilized apartment in Astoria.
It's not me, it's someone else.
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 70342
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by Leisher »

Lots of ammo in there for Eric Adams' team.
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 70342
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by Leisher »

"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 70342
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by Leisher »

I'm sure Jamie thinks this is a strong statement, but it just shows he's a bad leader, a terrible husband/father, and completely unaware of anything other than himself.
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
TheCatt
Site Admin
Posts: 57568
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 11:15 pm
Location: Cary, NC

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by TheCatt »

There was some similar joke about AWS, calendar showing you can WFH 40 hours by working nights + weekends.

Also, he said that 4 months ago, why whales recycling it?
It's not me, it's someone else.
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 70342
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by Leisher »

Whales rapidly became a content account. Posts things to get a reaction instead of news. Essentially, he's the MSM now.
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
Leisher
Site Admin
Posts: 70342
Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 9:17 pm
Contact:

Bad Economic Predictions

Post by Leisher »

Catt, what's going on with this? Why is Oracle spiking?
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
Post Reply