Property valuations are only good, if you property is mortgaged and/or you are looking to sell. My proposed tax valuation for the next year is an increase of almost 30%.
1) For a century, the word INFLATION meant THE INCREASE IN FIAT (artificial) MONEY SUPPLY.
2) The SYMPTOM of the artificial increase of money supply, is PRICE INCREASES.
3) The central bank regime managed to redefine 'inflation' to mean "consumer price increases", thus hiding the cause of price increases (their moneyprinting).
It's a real conspiracy, the history and theory of which is described by Austrian Economics. It is worth taking time to study seriously: Free resources at https://mises.org
I’m probably at the extremist end of prognosticators. I don’t expect the dreadful economic (& most other aspects of life) storm we’re entering to get better.
That’s because it’s my belief that the entire situation has been manufactured, deliberately, with the intent of destroying economies & sovereign currencies.
By destroying the old, introducing the new financial system becomes not only more acceptable but essential. Cashless digital money/ CBDCs = slave system.
Each to their own, but please give some weighting to this scenario.
It's a rare gift, I think, to be able to explain complex things with real clarity yet not talk down to your audience. I always try to avoid leaving even the slightest slugtrail of slimy sycophancy but--excellent as always.
RE Boomers have it easy. I'm a late boomer and so graduated from college and law school in very much down-times; the late seventies and the early eighties, the era of stagflation. Few jobs to be found. Auto loan rates were high. When we bought our first home in 1989, the price of housing was rising every month, interest rate on our mortgage was almost 9% and you HAD to have a ten percent down-payment in order to get a mortgage. It was very difficult for us to get our first modest house and we were only able to afford it because it needed a lot of work.
Our oldest bought a house in late 2020 in the Dallas area and they did get into the market just in time---the same house plan is now selling in their development for $150,000 more than they paid.
Our youngest doesn't have a prayer of buying a house in THIS market but I think it's safe to say that they will be able to eventually.
It's almost as if they saw this coming for the last 10-20 years. Obama raised the fed. minimum wage significantly and locked in increases over many years to help disguise the reality. And so many other laws that tried to ease us into this mess, the full consequences we have yet to see. It's like Madoff plugging holes in the Ponzi scheme for as long as he could until the dam broke. Meanwhile, Gates buying all the farm land and Blackstone and Vanguard buying residential homes over market price. You will own nothing and be super happy!
I'm part of the weird generational slice that people with too much time on their hands named "Xennials."
My husband and I bought our first home in the normally-overpriced NYC during the '08 crisis, refinanced in around '11 when rates were even lower, and when we had dual incomes, we poured extra cash into paying off our principal, and threw every gift from parents or bonuses from work at it. We paid off about 3 years ago, and last year sold it at a roughly 45% profit to get out of the progressive dumpster fire that NYC will be for the foreseeable future. We bought a lot more house in a cheaper rural market that was still, compared to usual, moving lightning fast (houses were going off the market within hours).
Despite not having a mortgage- a fact we're extremely grateful for, in our early 40s- we are keenly feeling the increase costs in fuel, energy, and food as much as anyone. If my husband hadn't found a new job this year, our energy and gas bills alone would probably wipe out our savings within a year.
And now we're being told this is A) a figment of our imagination, B) for our own good, and C) a sacrifice we're called on to make to benefit... someone.
I'm not going to say we're poor. But pretty much my entire life as an independent adult, I've been pretty sure I could be financially destroyed in the blink of an eye by politicians deciding to annihilate the economy that year.
If we lived in a mansion, I'd probably still be stocking a shelter with dented soup cans for $0.20 like I am now.
Regarding your house as an asset: One of the things I learned from reading books like Rich Dad, Poor Dad, is that if it is NOT bringing in income, it is not an asset. If it is costing you money it is a liability. So your house is actually a liability, not an asset. It only becomes an asset when it is sold. A lot of people don't understand this concept. So they overbuy in the hopes of making a profit down the road, only to run into trouble should the market tank at the time they need to sell.
Another, related, concept is that of "phantom wealth". This is what most retirement vehicles are based on. What I learned in economics class in college and what I have learned studying personal finance on my own, is that the value of something is driven by what the buyer is willing to pay, not the price the seller puts on it. Now when it comes to necessities like food and energy you are pretty much at the whim of the seller because there really aren't any alternatives for these things. Investing in the market, on the other hand, is optional. So if there are no or few buyers, the price has to go down. What this means is that you may have X amount of dollars in your 401k on paper, but when it comes time to start withdrawing, if the market is not good, you aren't going to get as much as what you thought you had. Back in the mid-90's I "lost" $17,000 in pension funds due to some shenanigans by a dishonest CEO who ran a thriving company into the ground six months after he took over the reins. In January my statement said that the paper I held in company stock was worth $17,000; by July those same pieces of paper were worth less than toilet paper and not nearly so useful! That's phantom wealth.
I am afraid that there is going to be a reckoning down the road, because the only way we can keep things like 401k's and even Social Security going is if there are more people paying in (buying) than there are people taking out. When places are hurting for workers, that means less people paying in to the system. Younger workers also frequently don't have the money to put aside in 401k's either. I've had quite a few discussions with coworkers lately about retirement. I think my generation (Boomers) will be the last to really retire. I also see some of my younger and not-so-younger colleagues make some really scary financial decisions, I mean some really, really bad stuff; they're living paycheck to paycheck, in debt, poor credit rating, bankruptcies, missed payments. This stuff has a nasty habit of catching up to you when you can least deal with it. "Oh, but I've got time to turn things around." Not really.
I could write a whole lot more on this subject, such as the industries and institutions that prey on poor people (and there are a LOT of them). I am going into retirement in a lot better shape than most of my peers and that is because I made a deliberate choice to avoid some of the bad choices they made. There are people I don't look upon with envy; these are the people who have gotten involved with drugs/alcohol, had run-ins with the law, or are struggling to raise children on their own while drifting in and out of a series of bad relationships. No, I don't say "But for the grace of God there go I" when I hear these stories. I don't find anything attractive about that kind of life at all.
Just read an article about how they are trying to make "green steel" now, because the production of steel is one of the major emitters of carbon. One small problem with that, it will make steel much more expensive. And as you can imagine there's steel in almost everything, from construction to cars to appliances to kitchenware.
Just another upcoming contribution to inflation, along with still rising energy and food prices etc.
But to blame any particular person is naive. Some are FAR worse than others, but every admin and congress has over spent borrowed money to win votes.
The problem isn't the system, it's the morons, that we morons (well statistically some of us are 🤔) elect to be the CFO's of our national account.
Those with any financial sense realized years ago that the lack of a foundation (ie gold standard), the cruelty of wealth distribution and the insanity of QE and ZIRP were leading us all to ruin.
Now the bonfire is so large that no matter how much Baghdad Bob and his cronies crow while they keep pouring gasoline into the dumpster, this fire isn't going out anytime soon.
Maybe the glow from the conflagration will wake enough people up to next time vote with logos, over pathos.
"inflation is a tax on savers and a subsidy for borrowers."
--------
And nobody borrows as much as the USG. They are going to inflate away the debt. Plan accordingly.
Property valuations are only good, if you property is mortgaged and/or you are looking to sell. My proposed tax valuation for the next year is an increase of almost 30%.
1) For a century, the word INFLATION meant THE INCREASE IN FIAT (artificial) MONEY SUPPLY.
2) The SYMPTOM of the artificial increase of money supply, is PRICE INCREASES.
3) The central bank regime managed to redefine 'inflation' to mean "consumer price increases", thus hiding the cause of price increases (their moneyprinting).
It's a real conspiracy, the history and theory of which is described by Austrian Economics. It is worth taking time to study seriously: Free resources at https://mises.org
I’m probably at the extremist end of prognosticators. I don’t expect the dreadful economic (& most other aspects of life) storm we’re entering to get better.
That’s because it’s my belief that the entire situation has been manufactured, deliberately, with the intent of destroying economies & sovereign currencies.
By destroying the old, introducing the new financial system becomes not only more acceptable but essential. Cashless digital money/ CBDCs = slave system.
Each to their own, but please give some weighting to this scenario.
It's a rare gift, I think, to be able to explain complex things with real clarity yet not talk down to your audience. I always try to avoid leaving even the slightest slugtrail of slimy sycophancy but--excellent as always.
RE Boomers have it easy. I'm a late boomer and so graduated from college and law school in very much down-times; the late seventies and the early eighties, the era of stagflation. Few jobs to be found. Auto loan rates were high. When we bought our first home in 1989, the price of housing was rising every month, interest rate on our mortgage was almost 9% and you HAD to have a ten percent down-payment in order to get a mortgage. It was very difficult for us to get our first modest house and we were only able to afford it because it needed a lot of work.
Our oldest bought a house in late 2020 in the Dallas area and they did get into the market just in time---the same house plan is now selling in their development for $150,000 more than they paid.
Our youngest doesn't have a prayer of buying a house in THIS market but I think it's safe to say that they will be able to eventually.
It's almost as if they saw this coming for the last 10-20 years. Obama raised the fed. minimum wage significantly and locked in increases over many years to help disguise the reality. And so many other laws that tried to ease us into this mess, the full consequences we have yet to see. It's like Madoff plugging holes in the Ponzi scheme for as long as he could until the dam broke. Meanwhile, Gates buying all the farm land and Blackstone and Vanguard buying residential homes over market price. You will own nothing and be super happy!
I'm part of the weird generational slice that people with too much time on their hands named "Xennials."
My husband and I bought our first home in the normally-overpriced NYC during the '08 crisis, refinanced in around '11 when rates were even lower, and when we had dual incomes, we poured extra cash into paying off our principal, and threw every gift from parents or bonuses from work at it. We paid off about 3 years ago, and last year sold it at a roughly 45% profit to get out of the progressive dumpster fire that NYC will be for the foreseeable future. We bought a lot more house in a cheaper rural market that was still, compared to usual, moving lightning fast (houses were going off the market within hours).
Despite not having a mortgage- a fact we're extremely grateful for, in our early 40s- we are keenly feeling the increase costs in fuel, energy, and food as much as anyone. If my husband hadn't found a new job this year, our energy and gas bills alone would probably wipe out our savings within a year.
And now we're being told this is A) a figment of our imagination, B) for our own good, and C) a sacrifice we're called on to make to benefit... someone.
I'm not going to say we're poor. But pretty much my entire life as an independent adult, I've been pretty sure I could be financially destroyed in the blink of an eye by politicians deciding to annihilate the economy that year.
If we lived in a mansion, I'd probably still be stocking a shelter with dented soup cans for $0.20 like I am now.
It’s not so bad, I can’t wait to be a trillionaire!!!
Regarding your house as an asset: One of the things I learned from reading books like Rich Dad, Poor Dad, is that if it is NOT bringing in income, it is not an asset. If it is costing you money it is a liability. So your house is actually a liability, not an asset. It only becomes an asset when it is sold. A lot of people don't understand this concept. So they overbuy in the hopes of making a profit down the road, only to run into trouble should the market tank at the time they need to sell.
Another, related, concept is that of "phantom wealth". This is what most retirement vehicles are based on. What I learned in economics class in college and what I have learned studying personal finance on my own, is that the value of something is driven by what the buyer is willing to pay, not the price the seller puts on it. Now when it comes to necessities like food and energy you are pretty much at the whim of the seller because there really aren't any alternatives for these things. Investing in the market, on the other hand, is optional. So if there are no or few buyers, the price has to go down. What this means is that you may have X amount of dollars in your 401k on paper, but when it comes time to start withdrawing, if the market is not good, you aren't going to get as much as what you thought you had. Back in the mid-90's I "lost" $17,000 in pension funds due to some shenanigans by a dishonest CEO who ran a thriving company into the ground six months after he took over the reins. In January my statement said that the paper I held in company stock was worth $17,000; by July those same pieces of paper were worth less than toilet paper and not nearly so useful! That's phantom wealth.
I am afraid that there is going to be a reckoning down the road, because the only way we can keep things like 401k's and even Social Security going is if there are more people paying in (buying) than there are people taking out. When places are hurting for workers, that means less people paying in to the system. Younger workers also frequently don't have the money to put aside in 401k's either. I've had quite a few discussions with coworkers lately about retirement. I think my generation (Boomers) will be the last to really retire. I also see some of my younger and not-so-younger colleagues make some really scary financial decisions, I mean some really, really bad stuff; they're living paycheck to paycheck, in debt, poor credit rating, bankruptcies, missed payments. This stuff has a nasty habit of catching up to you when you can least deal with it. "Oh, but I've got time to turn things around." Not really.
I could write a whole lot more on this subject, such as the industries and institutions that prey on poor people (and there are a LOT of them). I am going into retirement in a lot better shape than most of my peers and that is because I made a deliberate choice to avoid some of the bad choices they made. There are people I don't look upon with envy; these are the people who have gotten involved with drugs/alcohol, had run-ins with the law, or are struggling to raise children on their own while drifting in and out of a series of bad relationships. No, I don't say "But for the grace of God there go I" when I hear these stories. I don't find anything attractive about that kind of life at all.
Just read an article about how they are trying to make "green steel" now, because the production of steel is one of the major emitters of carbon. One small problem with that, it will make steel much more expensive. And as you can imagine there's steel in almost everything, from construction to cars to appliances to kitchenware.
Just another upcoming contribution to inflation, along with still rising energy and food prices etc.
We will own nothing and will be told to be happy.
Bitcoin fixes all this shit! 😉
It’s due to Ukraine. It has nothing to do with governments printing money like fools to pay people to stay home lest they get a cold. Sarc.
Cliff note: we’re fucked
We all feel the real.
But to blame any particular person is naive. Some are FAR worse than others, but every admin and congress has over spent borrowed money to win votes.
The problem isn't the system, it's the morons, that we morons (well statistically some of us are 🤔) elect to be the CFO's of our national account.
Those with any financial sense realized years ago that the lack of a foundation (ie gold standard), the cruelty of wealth distribution and the insanity of QE and ZIRP were leading us all to ruin.
Now the bonfire is so large that no matter how much Baghdad Bob and his cronies crow while they keep pouring gasoline into the dumpster, this fire isn't going out anytime soon.
Maybe the glow from the conflagration will wake enough people up to next time vote with logos, over pathos.
gato malo is an economy wizard too... who knew :-)?
Much toxoplasmosis lately :-)?
Gracias!