[EconProf]

San Diego city finances are soooo screwed, and accordingly, so are taxpayers within city limits.
The original whistleblower you refer to is Shipione, an accountant, and her husband, equally vocal about the coming debacle, is Pat Shea, an attorney.
The looming fiscal train wreck for San Diego is still greatly underrated in magnitude due to my favorite niche subject: time lags. Several time lags are at work here which, when combined, will drop a grenade into the city council’s little party. One time lag is the reporting and recognition delay between the portfolio deterioration of the pension fund the end-of-reporting-period publication. Apply mark-to-market rules to today’s holdings and the pension fund is way underfunded relative to its promises.
Another unremarked lag comes from RE values falling and thus future property tax revenues falling as owners flood the county with assessment appeals. That lag is years long, and will slam county and school districts as well.
Yes, you can blame Peters, Manshaim (sp), and Atkins for this, all still in power, all still bobbing and weaving to dodge responsibility. The Union Tribune has been pretty decent about reporting the shennanigans over the years, but the public employee unions run the city.
Carl DeMaio is the one hope on the city council. Long a critic of city finances, he is conservative and one smart guy. Too bad April Boling, another critic and an accountant, lost to airhead Marti Emerald.

[EconProf]

San Diego city finances are soooo screwed, and accordingly, so are taxpayers within city limits.
The original whistleblower you refer to is Shipione, an accountant, and her husband, equally vocal about the coming debacle, is Pat Shea, an attorney.
The looming fiscal train wreck for San Diego is still greatly underrated in magnitude due to my favorite niche subject: time lags. Several time lags are at work here which, when combined, will drop a grenade into the city council’s little party. One time lag is the reporting and recognition delay between the portfolio deterioration of the pension fund the end-of-reporting-period publication. Apply mark-to-market rules to today’s holdings and the pension fund is way underfunded relative to its promises.
Another unremarked lag comes from RE values falling and thus future property tax revenues falling as owners flood the county with assessment appeals. That lag is years long, and will slam county and school districts as well.
Yes, you can blame Peters, Manshaim (sp), and Atkins for this, all still in power, all still bobbing and weaving to dodge responsibility. The Union Tribune has been pretty decent about reporting the shennanigans over the years, but the public employee unions run the city.
Carl DeMaio is the one hope on the city council. Long a critic of city finances, he is conservative and one smart guy. Too bad April Boling, another critic and an accountant, lost to airhead Marti Emerald.

[EconProf]

San Diego city finances are soooo screwed, and accordingly, so are taxpayers within city limits.
The original whistleblower you refer to is Shipione, an accountant, and her husband, equally vocal about the coming debacle, is Pat Shea, an attorney.
The looming fiscal train wreck for San Diego is still greatly underrated in magnitude due to my favorite niche subject: time lags. Several time lags are at work here which, when combined, will drop a grenade into the city council’s little party. One time lag is the reporting and recognition delay between the portfolio deterioration of the pension fund the end-of-reporting-period publication. Apply mark-to-market rules to today’s holdings and the pension fund is way underfunded relative to its promises.
Another unremarked lag comes from RE values falling and thus future property tax revenues falling as owners flood the county with assessment appeals. That lag is years long, and will slam county and school districts as well.
Yes, you can blame Peters, Manshaim (sp), and Atkins for this, all still in power, all still bobbing and weaving to dodge responsibility. The Union Tribune has been pretty decent about reporting the shennanigans over the years, but the public employee unions run the city.
Carl DeMaio is the one hope on the city council. Long a critic of city finances, he is conservative and one smart guy. Too bad April Boling, another critic and an accountant, lost to airhead Marti Emerald.

[EconProf]

San Diego city finances are soooo screwed, and accordingly, so are taxpayers within city limits.
The original whistleblower you refer to is Shipione, an accountant, and her husband, equally vocal about the coming debacle, is Pat Shea, an attorney.
The looming fiscal train wreck for San Diego is still greatly underrated in magnitude due to my favorite niche subject: time lags. Several time lags are at work here which, when combined, will drop a grenade into the city council’s little party. One time lag is the reporting and recognition delay between the portfolio deterioration of the pension fund the end-of-reporting-period publication. Apply mark-to-market rules to today’s holdings and the pension fund is way underfunded relative to its promises.
Another unremarked lag comes from RE values falling and thus future property tax revenues falling as owners flood the county with assessment appeals. That lag is years long, and will slam county and school districts as well.
Yes, you can blame Peters, Manshaim (sp), and Atkins for this, all still in power, all still bobbing and weaving to dodge responsibility. The Union Tribune has been pretty decent about reporting the shennanigans over the years, but the public employee unions run the city.
Carl DeMaio is the one hope on the city council. Long a critic of city finances, he is conservative and one smart guy. Too bad April Boling, another critic and an accountant, lost to airhead Marti Emerald.

[EconProf]

Bobby: That Detroit News article about UAW workers going BK & overextending on credit cards was really telling. Their main problem, they allege, is the decline of overtime hours, suddenly putting a crimp on their spending. Their income falls from tripple-didget levels and suddenly they can’t afford their second home or cabin at the lake, their toys, etc. Amazing!
The root of the problem for both these workers and their company and their union is “short-termism” the tendency to look only at the short run. Instant gratification, ignoring long-term costs, pretending agile foreign car companies won’t eat their lunch, thinking American consumers will always be loyal to your crappy product, buying on credit, etc., etc.
If our domestic car companies are bailed out by our feckless congress, the companies, their union, and the workers will avoid facing the behaviors that have brought them to this point. As a result, they will be back for more within months as the bleeding continues. They will become a permanent drain on the government. And the taxpayers supporting these UAW workers will include some people making $20 – $25 per hour living and spending responsibly.
Ford and GM going bankrupt would be far less disruptive and damaging than it is being portrayed. The companies could void and rewrite all contracts, pensions, labor agreements, etc. that they have recklessly taken on. Retirees would be taken care of by the Feds under current law protecting BK pension plans. All the current factories, work force, distribution channels etc. would be bought out, reorganized, sold where appropriate, and run by the likes of Toyota, Honda, Mazda, etc. and run efficiently & profitably.
As a nation of consumers, taxpayers, and workers, we would gain in the long run. Short run? Lots of pain and necessary disruption, and especially attitude adjustment. The question is whether now, with elections behind us, we are ready to think about the long term or stay stuck with short term expediency that only dooms us.

[EconProf]

Bobby: That Detroit News article about UAW workers going BK & overextending on credit cards was really telling. Their main problem, they allege, is the decline of overtime hours, suddenly putting a crimp on their spending. Their income falls from tripple-didget levels and suddenly they can’t afford their second home or cabin at the lake, their toys, etc. Amazing!
The root of the problem for both these workers and their company and their union is “short-termism” the tendency to look only at the short run. Instant gratification, ignoring long-term costs, pretending agile foreign car companies won’t eat their lunch, thinking American consumers will always be loyal to your crappy product, buying on credit, etc., etc.
If our domestic car companies are bailed out by our feckless congress, the companies, their union, and the workers will avoid facing the behaviors that have brought them to this point. As a result, they will be back for more within months as the bleeding continues. They will become a permanent drain on the government. And the taxpayers supporting these UAW workers will include some people making $20 – $25 per hour living and spending responsibly.
Ford and GM going bankrupt would be far less disruptive and damaging than it is being portrayed. The companies could void and rewrite all contracts, pensions, labor agreements, etc. that they have recklessly taken on. Retirees would be taken care of by the Feds under current law protecting BK pension plans. All the current factories, work force, distribution channels etc. would be bought out, reorganized, sold where appropriate, and run by the likes of Toyota, Honda, Mazda, etc. and run efficiently & profitably.
As a nation of consumers, taxpayers, and workers, we would gain in the long run. Short run? Lots of pain and necessary disruption, and especially attitude adjustment. The question is whether now, with elections behind us, we are ready to think about the long term or stay stuck with short term expediency that only dooms us.

[EconProf]

Bobby: That Detroit News article about UAW workers going BK & overextending on credit cards was really telling. Their main problem, they allege, is the decline of overtime hours, suddenly putting a crimp on their spending. Their income falls from tripple-didget levels and suddenly they can’t afford their second home or cabin at the lake, their toys, etc. Amazing!
The root of the problem for both these workers and their company and their union is “short-termism” the tendency to look only at the short run. Instant gratification, ignoring long-term costs, pretending agile foreign car companies won’t eat their lunch, thinking American consumers will always be loyal to your crappy product, buying on credit, etc., etc.
If our domestic car companies are bailed out by our feckless congress, the companies, their union, and the workers will avoid facing the behaviors that have brought them to this point. As a result, they will be back for more within months as the bleeding continues. They will become a permanent drain on the government. And the taxpayers supporting these UAW workers will include some people making $20 – $25 per hour living and spending responsibly.
Ford and GM going bankrupt would be far less disruptive and damaging than it is being portrayed. The companies could void and rewrite all contracts, pensions, labor agreements, etc. that they have recklessly taken on. Retirees would be taken care of by the Feds under current law protecting BK pension plans. All the current factories, work force, distribution channels etc. would be bought out, reorganized, sold where appropriate, and run by the likes of Toyota, Honda, Mazda, etc. and run efficiently & profitably.
As a nation of consumers, taxpayers, and workers, we would gain in the long run. Short run? Lots of pain and necessary disruption, and especially attitude adjustment. The question is whether now, with elections behind us, we are ready to think about the long term or stay stuck with short term expediency that only dooms us.

[EconProf]

Bobby: That Detroit News article about UAW workers going BK & overextending on credit cards was really telling. Their main problem, they allege, is the decline of overtime hours, suddenly putting a crimp on their spending. Their income falls from tripple-didget levels and suddenly they can’t afford their second home or cabin at the lake, their toys, etc. Amazing!
The root of the problem for both these workers and their company and their union is “short-termism” the tendency to look only at the short run. Instant gratification, ignoring long-term costs, pretending agile foreign car companies won’t eat their lunch, thinking American consumers will always be loyal to your crappy product, buying on credit, etc., etc.
If our domestic car companies are bailed out by our feckless congress, the companies, their union, and the workers will avoid facing the behaviors that have brought them to this point. As a result, they will be back for more within months as the bleeding continues. They will become a permanent drain on the government. And the taxpayers supporting these UAW workers will include some people making $20 – $25 per hour living and spending responsibly.
Ford and GM going bankrupt would be far less disruptive and damaging than it is being portrayed. The companies could void and rewrite all contracts, pensions, labor agreements, etc. that they have recklessly taken on. Retirees would be taken care of by the Feds under current law protecting BK pension plans. All the current factories, work force, distribution channels etc. would be bought out, reorganized, sold where appropriate, and run by the likes of Toyota, Honda, Mazda, etc. and run efficiently & profitably.
As a nation of consumers, taxpayers, and workers, we would gain in the long run. Short run? Lots of pain and necessary disruption, and especially attitude adjustment. The question is whether now, with elections behind us, we are ready to think about the long term or stay stuck with short term expediency that only dooms us.

[EconProf]

Bobby: That Detroit News article about UAW workers going BK & overextending on credit cards was really telling. Their main problem, they allege, is the decline of overtime hours, suddenly putting a crimp on their spending. Their income falls from tripple-didget levels and suddenly they can’t afford their second home or cabin at the lake, their toys, etc. Amazing!
The root of the problem for both these workers and their company and their union is “short-termism” the tendency to look only at the short run. Instant gratification, ignoring long-term costs, pretending agile foreign car companies won’t eat their lunch, thinking American consumers will always be loyal to your crappy product, buying on credit, etc., etc.
If our domestic car companies are bailed out by our feckless congress, the companies, their union, and the workers will avoid facing the behaviors that have brought them to this point. As a result, they will be back for more within months as the bleeding continues. They will become a permanent drain on the government. And the taxpayers supporting these UAW workers will include some people making $20 – $25 per hour living and spending responsibly.
Ford and GM going bankrupt would be far less disruptive and damaging than it is being portrayed. The companies could void and rewrite all contracts, pensions, labor agreements, etc. that they have recklessly taken on. Retirees would be taken care of by the Feds under current law protecting BK pension plans. All the current factories, work force, distribution channels etc. would be bought out, reorganized, sold where appropriate, and run by the likes of Toyota, Honda, Mazda, etc. and run efficiently & profitably.
As a nation of consumers, taxpayers, and workers, we would gain in the long run. Short run? Lots of pain and necessary disruption, and especially attitude adjustment. The question is whether now, with elections behind us, we are ready to think about the long term or stay stuck with short term expediency that only dooms us.

[EconProf]

sduuuuude: It is actually possible (but rare) to be an economist AND an entrepreneur.
Another definition of an economist is someone who would marry Britney Spears, for her money.

[EconProf]

sduuuuude: It is actually possible (but rare) to be an economist AND an entrepreneur.
Another definition of an economist is someone who would marry Britney Spears, for her money.

[EconProf]

sduuuuude: It is actually possible (but rare) to be an economist AND an entrepreneur.
Another definition of an economist is someone who would marry Britney Spears, for her money.

[EconProf]

sduuuuude: It is actually possible (but rare) to be an economist AND an entrepreneur.
Another definition of an economist is someone who would marry Britney Spears, for her money.

[EconProf]

sduuuuude: It is actually possible (but rare) to be an economist AND an entrepreneur.
Another definition of an economist is someone who would marry Britney Spears, for her money.

[EconProf]

Back when prices were rising 1 – 2% per month, many people made good money buying fixer-uppers, making all the improvements, and then selling them 6 months or a year later. They congratulated themselves on their skills, but forgot that it was a rising market combined with their leveraged position that gave them most of the profit.
In a falling market, both of those factors work against you, so the idea fails big time.
Add to this the tendency to underestimate fixup costs, ignor their own time committment, downplay transaction costs getting in and getting out, ignor the opportunity cost of their down payment, and you’ve got a losing proposition except in rare times and with the perfect property.

[Author]

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