[joec]

[quote=mixxalot]Yeah I am paying now what I was paying 10 years ago in Loma Portal. Actually the place now I am at has a new remodeled kitchen, new carpet, wood floors. I am on the fence whether or not to buy. Yes, I’d like more room and a garage but I’d also have to spend twice as much cash for a place to live over time. So its a risk. What if I ever have to move for a job?

It is funny how coastal San Diego rents are half as much as buying same size place. Never can understand that.[/quote]

If you need to ask folks here whether to rent or buy or to convince you one thing or the other, then I think you should just keep renting…

The math is not hard and if you are in a place that’s comparatively lower than buying and you don’t have kids/family/needs schools/may move, by all means, just rent. Usually, the math and other factors make it such an easy comparison I feel that these debates are pretty meaningless.

All I can say as a data point is all the houses near my hood now are > 4k/month rent in stucco 4S McMansion hood and my mortgage even though I am stuck with a higher rate will soon be close to 2k month without tax calculations/benefits (still have prop tax though).

Most people ran numbers and bought years ago and are sitting on 200k+ equity gains now…I think we’re over 50% equity already personally.

Also, with renting, I just heard a family friend is now forced to MOVE which is a nightmare to have to deal with if you are busy with other things in your life. Moving as a single guy in a 1 bedroom is nothing compared to moving a 4k sqft house with a family.

That and renting has gone up in nearly all the areas I watch. Maybe not yours, but certainly up > 33% here (3k -> 4k).

[joec]

Other than people needed to write code for tech startup/apps/etc, are any of the other “hard” engineering sciences really in a short supply? (EE/Materials/Chem/Mechanical/etc?)

One thing I think is that companies also aren’t interested in training or have folks learn since everyone has a short term focus IMO so if your skillset is hot/in demand now, there is a shortage since it’s a new area, but most folks who have graduated and worked a few years are being passed over.

This is all my wild guess/speculation though.

With less trading on wall street, I’d assume math and physics types are in a slightly lower demand as well.

[joec]

Maybe other Asians can chime in, but I think Asians can’t compete in the big game because in terms of community, there is no religion or anything really allowing Asians to bond with each other.

I’ve also heard from other Chinese multi-millionaires saying that the Chinese race doesn’t help each other at all like the Jewish people and generally view each other as greedy .

This is very true IMO and most Asians/Chinese just look out for their own and that’s it. Also, a lot of the wealth is more recent and it’s not old money so there is less enabling options or help for their kids or network/friends. This may change in future generations perhaps.

If you look at a lot of ultra successful people and business types, you usually also see very very smart parents who knew what to advise their kids to do and how to play the game, realistic expectations of society and opportunities out there (flyer, I see has done this).

One of the most successful people in our family has connections to the prez and spouse also is major international head of some relief group or something.

Whenever I talk to her dad, I totally get the sense he “told/forced” her to do the things she did (education/work/connections) to lead to all their success. Without that guidance, I don’t think any “kid” will know where to go or what to do.

Without this mentoring or valuable advice for most of society, you aren’t going to get that far in general (or at least not ultra success I see them having). Apparently, they have so much money now that they don’t know what to do with it all (according to their parents)…

Looking at my own path, very little guidance IMO so much much less success. Mostly had the boring tech job, but that’s about as most of us can get I think (which isn’t bad), but won’t lead to longer term fulfillment and greater success in work/life.

[joec]

Thanks for sharing…I kept my full replacement cost policy since I suppose, prices have doubled since…

[joec]

[quote=flyer]BG, you make some very good points, and I think the reason many people don’t understand your level of concern regarding medical coverage, is because they are not yet 50+, so they are not yet in the health coverage danger zone.

Very few younger people will have lifetime health insurance at any level provided by their employers as we have, so, if they should find themselves without coverage during that critical time of their lives, and the government doesn’t find a way to continue to subsidize them indefinitely without going bankrupt (good luck with that) they will eventually understand exactly what you have been talking about. Sometimes experience IS the best teacher.[/quote]

I did not support unemployment until I got laid off for the 1st time.

I did not support maternal/paternal care until I had to help my wife care for the new born.

I did not worry about health insurance until I was self employed and couldn’t even find any insurer willing to cover us with maternity no matter the cost (us paying).

What you are saying, flyer is very true and until you are hit with something that you are without a safety net, your views of this and any topic will not be supportive of it.

That said, I am OK with no coverage for some things that are simply too advanced or has a low chance of success or too costly. Or if you want to try, get in line like foreign countries or something.

I agree that ACA still needs a lot of work and why for me, probably the most important thing in the election is healthcare and I want single payer.

Cut benefits, destroy the current healthcare/insurance/drug companies/monopolies/power.

The problem is only in America, if you have 1 medical emergency you can’t pay for, you will be bankrupt if you don’t have decent coverage.

At that point, might as well go to jail.

[joec]

[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=njtosd]
My former boss (who didn’t say much that I found inspiring) did say one thing that has stuck with me: “If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t sell my time, because there are only so many hours in a day.” (In the case of attorneys, the number of hours in a day is 36.). Seriously, though, you can make more money in a day selling widgets than you can practicing Antitrust Law. So if you’re in it for the money – make sure you’re maximizing you potential profits.[/quote]

True. But statistically, how many businesses selling widgets become successful?

When you have an education and can sell your time for more than other people, you have a baseline to fall back on. Sell widgets if you want, but it should’t be the only plan.

I would say that the lack of health insurance has prevented many folks for starting small businesses. It usually takes money to make money. Creativity without resources is kinda useless. Rich kids can pursue their dreams using family resources. Middle class and poor kids should get an education first. Pursuing dreams is possible, just harder for the latter.[/quote]

I agree with this. Sure, many people can start from the streets and if they make it big, they start telling people that a college degree isn’t worth it, this that, etc etc etc…

Sorta like the lame comments coming from Sheryl Sandberg saying Harvard isn’t useful as a degree even though I think she met Larry Summers there who helped her with connections/network, etc etc etc…

I think most people have an over exaggeration of how great they are at their work/wealth/success and it has actually more to do with being born in the right family/resources/right place right time. All IMO of course. Heck, my family wasn’t wealthy enough growing up to go to any private schools.

It’s true that a few people will always make it successfully with no education (simple law of numbers), but the numbers are probably stacked against you and you would have to generally beat the odds. Like yourself and flu’s friend who did the shaved ice thing, I’m sure you can count on both hands many other people who failed in their business/passion, you name it. There are ton more failures there overall than successes.

Sometimes, it’s also luck of the draw, right place right time. I’m sure all the people who started solar did VERY well the last 10 years. I know mortgage brokers/owners who are multi-millionaires as well since they landed in that industry and rode it high up and owned the business.

I also have friends who made millions in the tech boom and are retired already at about 40. Startup got acquired, instant millionaires.

Skill/luck/passion? Your passion can only carry you so far IMO.

The whole point of college in the past was you can get a stable/boring job that if you can keep that job, would at least not lead you to poverty (which most people are having a tough time finding that job now).

These days, I don’t think that’s as possible with a lot of majors since most don’t lead directly to employment.

You see and read articles/shows and plenty of execs would say they graduated with (insert worthless degree here) and if they were doing that now, would have a very hard time finding work without connections.

College is the “safe” way for economic stability, but then, only “some” majors are safe for employment.

[joec]

I always feel there are lots of people with money and people who are buying million dollar places aren’t sweating since they have a lot of cash on the sides or lots of other properties.

Income isn’t as much of a concern since their asset base is very large and they aren’t trying to really qualify for a home mortgage IMO…

Until rents stop going up, I don’t think ANYTHING will stop prices from going up honestly.

As someone else posted, rents are insanely high/feels wrong at times already.

Unlike the previous bubble, rents were much much lower than home prices so it all collapsed. If people are still willing to rent for 4,200/month in my hood, then there is no reason for anyone pressured to sell if their mortgage is around 2k/month.

If no one wants to buy at your price, you can always rent and cash flow positive so easily…

[joec]

[quote=bearishgurl]I vote that CA re-institute the writing portion on the SAT, ACT and TOEFL and apply the applicant’s essay/writing score to their composite score.

This is how it was done when I took the ACT … way back in the day.

This would most certainly weed out thousands of Chinese applicants, who would fail this portion miserably, causing their composite scores to plummet.

Too bad … so sad.[/quote]

If you think this will happen, I honestly think you would be surprised as the “thousands of Chinese applicants” you state would probably do BETTER than a lot of the Americans applying for the UC or State school spots.

In America, why is it that EVERY english word spelling bee annual contest is won by some Indian guy/gal?
http://spellingbee.com/champions-and-their-winning-words

Looks like an American name hasn’t won since 2007.

My mom visited China a while back and there are plenty of Chinese who speak English better than many Americans. Again, these are probably the wealthier types, but there are lots of those.

I remember back in my day at UC, I had a college roommate who was not even studying engr, but could do ALL the math/physics stuff I took even though he was just an Econ major. At the end of the day, education/school is taken TONS more seriously in all the Asian countries and competing with that here will require a education/union/teacher revolution which isn’t going to happen.

At the end of the day, those “Chinese” just want to study at UCs or most elite colleges more than the “typical” American I believe.

Also, with how things are, I recommend people avoid JC if they can or try to go to a private school with some grants/aid to balance the cost.

[joec]

[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=flyer]Regardless of prior political achievements by either party, I think most voters just want to know if they and their children will be able to afford to live out the rest of their lives in a comfortable way–will they be able to afford their homes?–can they afford healthcare?–will they be able to retire? etc., etc., and it’s not looking good.

Although a small percentage of Americans at the top are acquiring more wealth, stats reveal that more and more people are drifting downward financially and losing ground–not just those in the middle class–especially as more and more of the population approaches their 50’s and loses their earning power for whatever reasons–so, imo, watching how those stats change for better or worse in the coming years will clearly tell us everything we need to know about the true power of either party. Because, if you can’t change what matters
most–what’s the point?[/quote]

I see that too. But supporting trump is wrong.

I know some people who are solidly middle class. Unfortunately their adult kids are adrift. They need cars, houses, health care. The grandkids need child care which is barely adorable. It’s hard in california because they can’t afford to gift down payments to their kids.
I feel for those people…. But looking at them as random voters I really want to say “Hey buddy, you’re a republican. All those years, you supported Randian policies. If your kids didn’t succeed it’s because you didn’t raise them right and you screwed up. Trump can’t do anything for you. Stop bitching and get a second job.. Loser! Trump would say.”[/quote]

I agree that most people just spend and waste too much money, but since you aren’t a parent, I really think you have no clue what it is all about when you have kids and a family. Being single and managing yourself is easy. With a wife, becomes slightly harder, with kids, everything is out the window and most of your life is trying to do them the best you can.

This is all open for display when you write most anything that I read here…

As someone knowing other parents having kids who are having tough times at school now where kids are medically getting sick trying to compete, I think our problem is that EVERYONE is worried what the future holds. As it has been reported many times, I believe the trend of the standard of living will go down for most of the next generation. This is due to major problems with high educational expenses (and you might not even get a job) and healthcare. With the credits, it should help, but it can still be pricey if you aren’t super poor.

Also, given 100 people, not everyone will succeed and depending on the competition, your kid might not be the smartest/or most athletic. Since it’s not you, you can blame yourself for your failures, but if your kid fails, all the blame or pressure may have him or her just kill themselves so what do you have now?

The sad reality I think coming and why you read about high suicide rates with even wealthy/top performing areas (Palo Alto) is that everyone is stressed and concerned if they will even get to college or get a job…

For people living in life in Silicon Valley in a tech job, if that implodes, good luck trying to pay your 6k/month shared 2 bedroom apartment also.

At the end of the day, most people have very little control (like if you graduate at a poor time, it has been proven that most people NEVER catch up in wages/jobs, etc…).

Just pray you get lucky some day and best advice is don’t have kids (look at all the industrialized modern nations) until you can really afford it.

[joec]

[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=livinincali]

If the republican party does anything that isn’t nominating Trump and backing him hard they’re are likely to lose the election in a landslide. If they do nominate Trump and get behind him I think we could see an interesting close election.[/quote]

And the winner is Trump. If he wins the White House, he’s a huge winner. But if he loses, either the nomination or the presidency, he will blame the “elite” party establishment. Kinda brilliant on his part.

I read that, in order to win the White House, Trump needs about 20% of the black vote. Blacks have been hurt by free trade so he could win some of them by promising to rip up trade agreements. But his campaign is seen as too much driven by disaffected Whites.[/quote]

One thing to always remember is that we elect our president by the electoral college. At the end of the day, only a few states will decide the election. Depending on those states which are swing states, our president is selected. I believe Trump, with how the past free trade deals have gone may take some blue states that supported democrats in the past (like Bernie taking Michigan)…

Also, a lot of the African American state votes in the deep south, I think when I was looking at it hasn’t voted for a democrat in like 30-50 years. Maybe they will switch now, but if you look at the chart, most likely won’t go Clinton neither.

I also wonder for an African American, would they actually like immigrants and Latinos considering they probably feel they are taking their lower income job?

All that said, women are the big problem since he is at a much lower desirability than 2012 with Romney.

It’s also unknown how Bernie’s supporters will vote. I know personally, I won’t vote for Hillary so I will probably not vote at all, and if the 8 or 9 million decide to stay home who are Bernie supporters, that would hurt Hillary a lot sin

I also know “educated” “professional” “well-paid” people supporting Trump for various reasons. Like people who support Hillary just to not vote Trump, you have the people who will vote Trump just to not see Hillary win.

Honestly, what I would REALLY like to see is both Trump AND Bernie Sanders run independent campaigns against Cruz and Hillary. That’d be a sight to see. Bernie can fund raise over the Internet, Trump may/can do the same with his supporters perhaps…

I have said it before, but our system is rigged since only a Republican or Democrat can win. In a lot of primaries, you can’t even vote unless you are registered as a dem or rep so ultimately, for the 50% of people who are independent or non-partisan voters, you are left with little/no choice to run your nation.

When studies were done on this, it was shown that it was simply impossible to run and win as a third party candidate due to how the rules are set and this is why both Trump and Sanders are running for the republican/democratic nomination to begin with when they both probably, on the issues are independent…

I say all 4 should just run and see who wins that vote…

[joec]

Bump and wanted to see what people are now paying for home coverage…

From looking at my policy, the coverage is a lot more expensive than back in 2009. That’s probably to be expected, but does it really cost over $200/sqft now to rebuild a house in San Diego?

From looking at new and old $/sqft search, it seems like this seems to be the correct price while it was about $130 back in 2010 or so (some graphs seem to end there for some reason).

What are people seeing in insurance premiums now? We are near $2k/year for guaranteed replacement cost…over 3k+ sqft track home in 4S.

[joec]

[quote=spdrun]

Basically, the previous system was “you need to be already healthy to get coverage.” Insane.[/quote]

My problem with the previous system was that as a self employed family, no one will even sell you coverage. As a healthy guy and wife, it was insanely hard to have anyone cover you if you even wanted maternity “just in case”.

That and any previous tests and you maybe out was extremely scary that 1 accident and you would be bankrupt.

I am also completely not overweight, never had a surgery, no smokes, drinks, whatever…

At the end of the day, for profit companies don’t care so it’s in their rightful corporate interests to drive profits and eliminate paying/treatment.

One reason I still think we need a different or better system than what we have now.

Medi-Cal is also bad as local places may not see/treat you at all and you may have to drive hours to find a place willing to see you.

[joec]

Agreed that if Obamacare is way too expensive, people will simply drop out…The credits help me a lot as our cost isn’t as bad as it is without.

That said, I think people and society in general should just ACCEPT that we can’t get tests or treatments for everything.

I don’t want to give doctors complete immunity neither for malpractice, but I would think if given the choice, sane people with low chances of survival would be happier with some cash in leau of treatment for themselves and their family.

People state that our healthcare is the best and other countries, you don’t have this or that treatment…but I suppose there is a cost to that and I, for one would be willing to not get the latest and greatest (at least not on the “general”/ “basic”) plan. If someone wanted advanced treatments, they should pay separately and there will still be a market for that.

Another problem I see is maternity as healthcare for women is a lot more than for men as men tend to ignore going to doctors and just die a lot earlier.

Young pregnancies, I’d guess is also paid a lot by the government, etc…need a better way to educate these people that having 4 or 5 kids isn’t doing yourself any favors (cultural thing probably).

[joec]

Having those policies would be the same as not having insurance at all.

Like if someone sold a home policy and covered nothing, what’s the point to even buy or sell it? Just a scam.

The problem for me is that medical insurance is a required evil unless we want people dieing in the streets. It’d be nice if there was a very very basic policy coverage with limited advanced treatments (which is probably the expensive stuff we have here) so stuff like cancer, you can get no treatment or whatever other countries do to keep their cost down. Sad we aren’t doing everything we can to save people, but doing everything would be too cost prohibitive…

[joec]

[quote=gzz]As someone else said, you should be careful and consider what your rent is versus the market. You moved in 2009 it sounds like, in the middle of a very bad economy. Rents are up like 30-40% since then. If you are paying $2100/mo for a house that rents for $2600 a month elswhere, that 500 a month savings is $6000 a year. Maybe you should keep the good deal going by spending some of that savings and making the repairs yourself.

If you don’t like the PM and want to cut her out, sounds like the best way to do that is show the landlord you can deal with repair issues yourself.[/quote]

I agree…Rent in my hood is up like 500-700/month since the low so fixing a few things, upgrade a few others and charge market rent should be easy in this market.

Best thing with owning is you don’t care that much what rents are and how housing prices are generally if you only have a primary.

[Author]

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