The Future of U.S. Housing – Projections of Household Formation, Loan Modification Data, 500,000 Option ARMs Still Active, and a Decade of Stagnation.
Take what you knew about projecting housing for the last fifty years and throw it out the window. The big problem with using models post-World War II is that they base growth on a baby boomer population that was the largest affluent middle class cohort known to the world. That model is now disappearing. Some […]
The $2.3 Trillion State and Local Government Debt Monster – California Pension Systems on Unsupportable Path with $500 Billion Projected Shortfall. CalPERS, CalSTRS, and UCRS.
Much of the focus on government debt over the past few years has revolved around the federal government. No doubt, this is a stunningly large amount. Yet the government has the ability to finance this debt through the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve with a buffet of choices. You have direct bailouts to Wall Street, […]
State and Local Budget Crisis Black Swan – California paying out $100 Million per Day in Unemployment Insurance. Detroit’s Shrinking Population Crushes Revenues. The Employment Situation at a Micro Level.
One stunning statistic that hit this week regards California’s unemployment insurance claims being paid out. California is paying out some $100 million per day in unemployment benefits. I’m not sure if I would call it a “benefit†but more as a buffer to get by. In reality if we really want to get a pulse […]
What does it mean to be Middle Class in 2010? – No College Degree, Massive Amounts of Debt, One Health Crisis from Bankruptcy, and Beholden to the Banking Elite.
Being middle class today does not carry the financial security that it once carried in the 1950s and 1960s. Interestingly enough, many Americans at that time did not own stocks yet somehow they managed well because they had access to affordable housing without toxic mortgages and many had the ability to work with one company […]