[EconProf]

Gotta weigh in on the old argument about using a realtor vs. going it alone.
Have bought & sold many properties, with and without real estate agents. In general, they are worthwhile simply because they insulate the buyer and seller from each other and smooth negotiations. Remember that the buying process is filled with pitfalls for each side and is a zero-sum game, with each side ready to rip the other to shreds. That’s why, ideally, the seller and buyer should never meet. If you are buying, you want the seller’s agent to knock some sense into them if they are delusional or in love with their house. If you are a seller, you want the agent tito market your property effectively to get the highest price and scope out the real buyers from the flakes. In countless other ways, good brokers move the transaction along, anticipate and solve problems, and coordinate all the necessary parties to do their job. These details are often ignored by the uninitiated who concentrate solely on the commission and ignor the time spent on deals that don’t get consumated.
That said, agents and realtors vary widely in knowledge, effort, and ethics and it is your job to select one carefully.

[EconProf]

Gotta weigh in on the old argument about using a realtor vs. going it alone.
Have bought & sold many properties, with and without real estate agents. In general, they are worthwhile simply because they insulate the buyer and seller from each other and smooth negotiations. Remember that the buying process is filled with pitfalls for each side and is a zero-sum game, with each side ready to rip the other to shreds. That’s why, ideally, the seller and buyer should never meet. If you are buying, you want the seller’s agent to knock some sense into them if they are delusional or in love with their house. If you are a seller, you want the agent tito market your property effectively to get the highest price and scope out the real buyers from the flakes. In countless other ways, good brokers move the transaction along, anticipate and solve problems, and coordinate all the necessary parties to do their job. These details are often ignored by the uninitiated who concentrate solely on the commission and ignor the time spent on deals that don’t get consumated.
That said, agents and realtors vary widely in knowledge, effort, and ethics and it is your job to select one carefully.

[EconProf]

Gotta weigh in on the old argument about using a realtor vs. going it alone.
Have bought & sold many properties, with and without real estate agents. In general, they are worthwhile simply because they insulate the buyer and seller from each other and smooth negotiations. Remember that the buying process is filled with pitfalls for each side and is a zero-sum game, with each side ready to rip the other to shreds. That’s why, ideally, the seller and buyer should never meet. If you are buying, you want the seller’s agent to knock some sense into them if they are delusional or in love with their house. If you are a seller, you want the agent tito market your property effectively to get the highest price and scope out the real buyers from the flakes. In countless other ways, good brokers move the transaction along, anticipate and solve problems, and coordinate all the necessary parties to do their job. These details are often ignored by the uninitiated who concentrate solely on the commission and ignor the time spent on deals that don’t get consumated.
That said, agents and realtors vary widely in knowledge, effort, and ethics and it is your job to select one carefully.

[EconProf]

Gotta weigh in on the old argument about using a realtor vs. going it alone.
Have bought & sold many properties, with and without real estate agents. In general, they are worthwhile simply because they insulate the buyer and seller from each other and smooth negotiations. Remember that the buying process is filled with pitfalls for each side and is a zero-sum game, with each side ready to rip the other to shreds. That’s why, ideally, the seller and buyer should never meet. If you are buying, you want the seller’s agent to knock some sense into them if they are delusional or in love with their house. If you are a seller, you want the agent tito market your property effectively to get the highest price and scope out the real buyers from the flakes. In countless other ways, good brokers move the transaction along, anticipate and solve problems, and coordinate all the necessary parties to do their job. These details are often ignored by the uninitiated who concentrate solely on the commission and ignor the time spent on deals that don’t get consumated.
That said, agents and realtors vary widely in knowledge, effort, and ethics and it is your job to select one carefully.

[EconProf]

This is one of the many gimmicks Sacramento used to avoid true spending cuts. The public employee unions own the state government, and many city governments. Government jobs now pay far more than comparable private sector jobs, and the latter are falling farther behind in this recession.

[EconProf]

This is one of the many gimmicks Sacramento used to avoid true spending cuts. The public employee unions own the state government, and many city governments. Government jobs now pay far more than comparable private sector jobs, and the latter are falling farther behind in this recession.

[EconProf]

This is one of the many gimmicks Sacramento used to avoid true spending cuts. The public employee unions own the state government, and many city governments. Government jobs now pay far more than comparable private sector jobs, and the latter are falling farther behind in this recession.

[EconProf]

This is one of the many gimmicks Sacramento used to avoid true spending cuts. The public employee unions own the state government, and many city governments. Government jobs now pay far more than comparable private sector jobs, and the latter are falling farther behind in this recession.

[EconProf]

This is one of the many gimmicks Sacramento used to avoid true spending cuts. The public employee unions own the state government, and many city governments. Government jobs now pay far more than comparable private sector jobs, and the latter are falling farther behind in this recession.

[EconProf]

Wal-Mart has lower prices by keeping costs down. They don’t pay union wages, buy in bulk and force their suppliers to sell to them for less, and have far superior inventory systems.
Like it or not, they will eat the lunch of the Von’s, Ralph’s, Lucky’s, whose lobbies have fought hard to keep WM supercenters out of CA.
If you think a cashier’s job is worth $20 per hour plus generous fringe benefits, you probably also think GM assembly line workers are worth their $30 or so an hour plus generous fringe benefits.
Competition, of the sort offered by WalMart, has done more to help the nation’s poor lucky enough to shop there than any number of welfare programs. It is interesting how the liberal elites love to hate WalMart.

[EconProf]

Wal-Mart has lower prices by keeping costs down. They don’t pay union wages, buy in bulk and force their suppliers to sell to them for less, and have far superior inventory systems.
Like it or not, they will eat the lunch of the Von’s, Ralph’s, Lucky’s, whose lobbies have fought hard to keep WM supercenters out of CA.
If you think a cashier’s job is worth $20 per hour plus generous fringe benefits, you probably also think GM assembly line workers are worth their $30 or so an hour plus generous fringe benefits.
Competition, of the sort offered by WalMart, has done more to help the nation’s poor lucky enough to shop there than any number of welfare programs. It is interesting how the liberal elites love to hate WalMart.

[EconProf]

Wal-Mart has lower prices by keeping costs down. They don’t pay union wages, buy in bulk and force their suppliers to sell to them for less, and have far superior inventory systems.
Like it or not, they will eat the lunch of the Von’s, Ralph’s, Lucky’s, whose lobbies have fought hard to keep WM supercenters out of CA.
If you think a cashier’s job is worth $20 per hour plus generous fringe benefits, you probably also think GM assembly line workers are worth their $30 or so an hour plus generous fringe benefits.
Competition, of the sort offered by WalMart, has done more to help the nation’s poor lucky enough to shop there than any number of welfare programs. It is interesting how the liberal elites love to hate WalMart.

[EconProf]

Wal-Mart has lower prices by keeping costs down. They don’t pay union wages, buy in bulk and force their suppliers to sell to them for less, and have far superior inventory systems.
Like it or not, they will eat the lunch of the Von’s, Ralph’s, Lucky’s, whose lobbies have fought hard to keep WM supercenters out of CA.
If you think a cashier’s job is worth $20 per hour plus generous fringe benefits, you probably also think GM assembly line workers are worth their $30 or so an hour plus generous fringe benefits.
Competition, of the sort offered by WalMart, has done more to help the nation’s poor lucky enough to shop there than any number of welfare programs. It is interesting how the liberal elites love to hate WalMart.

[EconProf]

Wal-Mart has lower prices by keeping costs down. They don’t pay union wages, buy in bulk and force their suppliers to sell to them for less, and have far superior inventory systems.
Like it or not, they will eat the lunch of the Von’s, Ralph’s, Lucky’s, whose lobbies have fought hard to keep WM supercenters out of CA.
If you think a cashier’s job is worth $20 per hour plus generous fringe benefits, you probably also think GM assembly line workers are worth their $30 or so an hour plus generous fringe benefits.
Competition, of the sort offered by WalMart, has done more to help the nation’s poor lucky enough to shop there than any number of welfare programs. It is interesting how the liberal elites love to hate WalMart.

[EconProf]

Let’s look even further, at the broader implications of this boondogle. Is society as a whole–our welfare–helped or hurt by this program?
The government took lower mileage used cars, poured poison down their throats, then crushed them. The impact on the nation’s gasoline usage and pollution emission I have read was miniscule.
Our national wealth of physical assets was thus diminished accordingly. Why couldn’t we have shipped all these cars to Mexico (or, pick a country), and sold them for, say, half their retail value here.
I read of one Mom who sought to help her daughter out, so gave her the family 12-year old 400LS Lexus that was “getting old”, so she could trade it in on a new little box from Japan. Almost made me cry.

[Author]

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