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All Roads Lead Out Of Rome, Too

A weekend topic starting with two articles in the Los Angeles Times. “Four months into the pandemic, never has the city seemed so upside down. Parking attendants wave flags to the empty streets. Storefronts, boarded-up from break-ins, merge with stalled construction sites. Homeless camps double as sidewalk bazaars. ‘COVID,’ says bike messenger Jimmy Lizama, ‘is a truth serum bringing it all out.'”

“For 10 years, downtown was a boom town. Then people started to get sick, and restaurants closed, residents fled and office workers kept a distance. Suddenly it was 2008 all over again, another recession tightening its grip on life, and the gains of the last decade — from blight to promise — are at risk. John Zanetos, a broker with CBRE, feels the emptiness. He occasionally drives from his Manhattan Beach home to meet prospective tenants downtown, where many office buildings stand nearly 90% empty.”

“Andrew Lowy plays second and E-flat clarinet for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which has canceled its performances through Dec. 31. Last October, Lowy and his husband purchased a loft in the Arts District. The couple were drawn to the vitality of the neighborhood. Bon Temps was a favorite but is now closed; Nightshade is temporarily shut. The pandemic has taken its toll. ‘Tumbleweeds,’ he said, describing the bleak emptiness of the streets during the stay-at-home orders.”

“In the historic core on Main Street and Spring Street, these disparities are in sharp relief as residents try to cohabit with people on the sidewalks. ‘I couldn’t imagine this happening,’ said an apartment manager, who requested anonymity for fear of losing his job. Four years ago, he and his wife found a place to live in the neighborhood where a number of mom-and-pop businesses had gotten established. The area was not as blighted back then, he said, but when the pandemic hit, encampments began to spread out from skid row.”

“‘By March, they were at 8th Street,’ he said. ‘Then by April and May, they were at 6th.’ Going for a walk became difficult, he said. There was meth smoke in the air, and he worried that his dog would step on a needle. When prospective renters made appointments to tour a unit and never showed up, he understood why. The building he manages, which had a vacancy rate of almost 10% in 2019, now stands 30% empty.”

“California has spent billions of dollars in recent years trying to ease the state’s staggering and disgraceful homeless crisis. As Gov. Gavin Newsom declared just a few months ago: ‘This is our cause. This is our calling.’ Yet now, with the state’s COVID eviction moratorium set to expire in less than a week, state leaders appear incapable of taking bold action to prevent an eviction tsunami that will surely result in countless families being forced onto the streets during a pandemic.”

“From the beginning, California leaders have pinned their hopes on a federal rescue package that would include money for tenants and landlords. That hasn’t happened. Now leaders are hoping that after the November election, a Biden administration will bail out renters, landlords and the state budget. But that’s a risky gamble that could end very badly.”

The San Francisco Chronicle. “State lawmakers nearing a deadline for action to avert mass evictions of California tenants who can’t pay their rent because of the coronavirus pandemic are working on a measure that is likely to provide only a short-term solution, those involved in the negotiations say. A longer-term solution for tenants and landlords who are encountering economic problems of their own because of nonpayment of rent would be put on hold, in hopes the federal government would step in with relief money.”

“‘It is a stopgap,’ said Debra Carlton, a lobbyist for the California Apartment Association. ‘We’re really hoping that the federal government will provide additional aid.'”

“A measure that is still alive, AB1436 by Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, would give tenants until 2022 to make up rent they could not pay because of a loss of income related to the coronavirus, but landlord groups oppose that lengthy timeline. ‘What we know for sure is that California is likely not going to be able to provide the ultimate solution to the problem,’ Chiu said. ‘The ultimate solution is for the federal government to step in and pay people’s rent.'”

The San Jose Spotlight. “As the county’s shelter-in-place order shuttering the local economy puts more residents at risk of losing their homes, San Jose leaders voted unanimously to extend the city’s eviction to Oct. 17. The moratorium now coincides with the local emergency declaration, also set to end Oct. 17. Still, the debate about how to balance challenges faced by tenants and landlords continues.”

“‘I don’t want to see anyone evicted during the moratorium; I think we should extend it to September 30. If we could do it longer, I’d probably agree with that as well,’ Councilmember Pam Foley said. ‘But when we are taking that pot of money that isn’t being paid to the landlord, over time it is becoming so large that it becomes untenable for a tenant to pay it back at any point.'”

“As the city keeps revisiting the moratorium, Mayor Sam Liccardo asked city officials the question on many renters’ minds: ‘Why wouldn’t you just pick a date farther out?'”

“Loss of revenue during the pandemic will affect landlords in both the short and long term, according to the city report. This can include the inability to pay mortgages, property taxes and expensive court costs. Small property owners are at greater risk of foreclosure and bankruptcy in the long run.”

“According to a survey from the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, landlords reported their property income accounted for at least a quarter of their retirement income. One in four landlords reported borrowing funds to make ends meet. Almost two in five were concerned about making ends meet in the next 90 days.”

“Councilmember Raul Peralez suggested the city prohibit evictions due to nonpayment of rent during the pandemic after the moratorium expires. This idea will be discussed at a future City Council meeting. ‘Somebody is going to have to get paid — whether it’s the tenant getting money to pay the landlord, or the landlord getting money to pay the mortgage,’ Councilmember Lan Diep said. ‘If we in San Jose, come up with a bill or a law that essentially says there is no tension here, that we’ve wiped out all debts for tenants, that potentially would negate legally a claim that tenants or landlords might have.'”

From KPC News. “Rents are falling in San Francisco. Keep that in mind as this column wanders along. An economist named Nathaniel Baum-Snow, writing in the Quarterly Journal of Economics in 2007, looked at the effect of highways on U.S. cities from 1950 and 1990. City populations dropped by 17 percent even as the population in metropolitan areas grew 72 percent. Population dispersed, and one reason was the new roads. Baum-Snow estimated that one new highway built through a city reduced its population by 18 percent.”

“All roads lead to Rome, but all roads lead out of Rome, too. We’re all dealing with the immediate consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Life is very different as students return to campus, with masks, social distancing, restricted gatherings and no football. My classroom is now equipped with a plexiglass shield on wheels, so I can roll it with me as I pace during lectures.”

“Rents are high and commutes are long in that city, but people endure it because of the high-paying tech jobs. Now, in an Aug. 14 article, the Wall Street Journal reports an exodus from San Francisco as businesses offer employees the chance to telecommute. Lower demand for city apartments has reduced rents 11 percent from last year.”

The Wall Street Journal. “New York is facing a crime wave and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has found the culprit: rent. People can’t afford it and need money, ‘so they feel like they either need to shoplift some bread or go hungry,’ she said earlier this summer.”

“New Yorkers who can’t pay rent due to the hardships of Covid-19 already can’t legally be evicted right now, but Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has co-sponsored a bill that would do more for them: cancel rent and mortgage payments nationwide for the duration of the pandemic. Even Joe Biden is on board: ‘Not paid later, forgiveness,’ he stressed in May. New York Reps. Grace Meng and Jerrold Nadler have signed on as co-sponsors of the rent-cancellation bill.”

“New York has been here before. After the stock market crash in October 1929, unemployment soared to nearly 25%. Voices in the tenements cried ‘Rent strike!’ Middle-class families with mortgages were a different matter. They faced impersonal financial institutions, not greedy landlords. Resistance would seem futile. Once, however, New York homeowners banded together in a mortgage strike.”

“Sunnyside Gardens in Queens is a planned community of 563 homes built between 1924 and 1928. The City Housing Corp. raised capital from the likes of John D. Rockefeller and Herbert Hoover, and the reform-minded founders sought to build a community, not only houses. Their experiment attracted many left-wing buyers, including radicals. Nowhere else could a communist and a Rockefeller find common cause.”

“All was well until the crash. By 1932 the situation was grim. The primary breadwinner in 4 in 10 Sunnyside families had been unemployed for 14 months or longer; three-quarters were down to 5 cents on the dollar of their 1928 net worth. Their home equity had vanished and their bank accounts drained.”

“Homeowners demanded from the City Housing Corp. ‘(a) interest reduction, (b) three-year waiver of amortization, and (c) writing-down of the mortgage principal.’ The company did what it could, but in 1934 it declared bankruptcy. Sunnysiders launched a strike; more than half of them, Lewis Mumford included, withheld mortgage payments. Reluctantly, the company commenced foreclosure proceedings.”

“Militants thought it was ‘a gigantic bluff.’ ‘They cannot afford to go through with the foreclosures,’ they claimed. ‘All we need to do to beat them is not to pay City Housing a nickel. Let us keep our lines fast.’ They mastered the theater of protest, carrying signs proclaiming, ‘Rockefeller puts families out of homes.’ A siren at one home brought dozens of neighbors running to confront the sheriff; housewives pelted deputies with flour. One eviction featured a mock funeral, with a coffin for the family home.”

“Defiant acts of solidarity only delayed the inevitable. Communist fervor couldn’t resist a capitalist legal system. Strikers sued in federal court for redress, but Judge John C. Knox expressed no sympathy for those trying to ‘put the squeeze’ on others to get out of their own obligations.”

“A final appeal to Gov. Herbert Lehman was rebuffed. ‘While I have much sympathy with all those in financial straits,’ responded the great liberal Democrat, ‘I do not consider it to be the proper function of the Governor to conduct negotiations for the modification of private contracts between private individuals.'”

“Mayor Fiorello La Guardia finally brokered a compromise. Recognizing the radicals as ‘an increasing peril to all other home owners,’ bondholders dropped interest rates and reduced second mortgages by 25%, so the total owed didn’t exceed a home’s value. Dozens of Sunnysiders accepted the deal, but in the end, more than half lost their homes.”

“New York’s leaders today offer a starkly different response. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed executive orders declaring a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures and a 90-day suspension of mortgage payments. Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Meng and Nadler are pushing for outright rent and mortgage forgiveness at the federal level.”

“We are left with irreconcilable models of state power. The liberal government of the 1930s provided what relief and regulatory reform it could, but rents and mortgages were a private matter. Today’s progressives recognize no economic arrangement as being in any way sacrosanct. They seek to direct the economy to serve social justice, and see no constitutional impediments ahead.”

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This Post Has 110 Comments

  1. Lots to say about all this:

    ‘As the city keeps revisiting the moratorium, Mayor Sam Liccardo asked city officials the question on many renters’ minds: ‘Why wouldn’t you just pick a date farther out?’

    See, Sam is an idiot. A lot of this comes down to expecting the guberment to take care of you. They can’t. They will make the wrong decisions about your health, pretty much everything they will muck up. What you people need to do is go back to work. I know, it’s a four letter word. But this commie BS ain’t going to cut it.

    It’s interesting that just down the road in Arizona, we got no commie “solutions”.

    1. Henry Kissinger used say, “Avoid setting dates. Adhering to a timeline is difficult in politics.”

      1. Ok personal story I met Kissinger at least 3 times I worked for WTNH tv8 in New Haven CT during gulf war 1 we had to drive the satellite rtuck with the big dish on top to his home in Kent CT and do a live feed to ABC’s Nightline. He had a separate little guest house that was all set up with lights desk backdrops etc, His wife always had a nice little spread of sandwiches homemade cake coffee ready for us….its a long drive and very dark at night. The producers, make up person came up from NYC . Even though he is world famous were weren’t treated like “the help”

        1. I sat in first class next to Senator Chuck Schumer a few years ago. I acknowledged him (“Good morning, Senator”) and we had a brief but pleasant conversation once we were in the air. Unlike Democrat Red Guard members, if I encounter any public official out and about in public spaces, even those whose politics I abhor, I would still respect their right to go about their business and lives in peace without being pestered or accosted.

          2. I would still respect our elected representatives because of my forebears who worked (and sometimes died) to make sure their positions and possibilities were preserved: a cousin shot down in 1970, other distant cousins who died in Normandy, the Hürtgen Forest, Andersonville, the Battle of the Crater, etc. etc. The respect I would show for them isn’t personal but historic.

        2. We had to endure Jimmy Carter and Stansfield Turner gutting the military of its finest.

          I still recall the utter incompetence that was displayed to the world after the failed Tehran rescue mission. I fear we are well down that path again, despite all our expensive toys.

          1. I still recall the utter incompetence in 1812 when the US federal government declared war on Great Britain but was too stupid to notice its military commanders on the frontier of that. The US commander of Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island only learned about the declaration when an overwhelming British force showed up on the island with the demand to “surrender or die”. The US garrison surrendered without a fight. Utter incompetence has a very long history, and is the main reason I read a lot of history.

          2. Utter incompetence has a very long history

            It does seem to be the universal language. Which is why everyone seems amazed by people who actually get things done right. It’s like magic.

  2. ‘New York is facing a crime wave and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has found the culprit: rent. People can’t afford it and need money, ‘so they feel like they either need to shoplift some bread or go hungry,’ she said earlier this summer’

    ‘New Yorkers who can’t pay rent due to the hardships of Covid-19 already can’t legally be evicted right now, but Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has co-sponsored a bill that would do more for them: cancel rent and mortgage payments nationwide for the duration of the pandemic. Even Joe Biden is on board: ‘Not paid later, forgiveness,’ he stressed’

    I find it a puzzle that politicians can make proposals like this without being forced to admit that would mean an end to capitalism and pretty much turn NYC into a black hole. Who’s going to pay for everything? La la la, let’s all listen to an idiot bartender! Get a grip New York.

    1. Oh, and by the way, here’s how you do it bartender. Start a political movement to change the constitution, sweep congress and the presidency, call a constitutional convention, and re-write it. Easy peasy!

      Until then, get a job and pay yer freaking bills, you reprobates!

      1. “New York is facing a crime wave.”

        Violent felonies are down, even compared with last year, and I don’t know of anyone who has been the victim of a crime in decades. There was organized looting in Manhattan on two nights, three months ago.

        Shootings are up — seems to be gang conflict. The problem seems to be that they aren’t good shots, and occasionally hit someone else.

        They can evict as much as they want, but then it’s zero rent for a while. People have become poorer, so who is business going to sell to? That’s the general problem — one that has been building up for decades as Americans were paid less, but sold more.

    3. I find it a puzzle that politicians can make proposals like this without being forced to admit that would mean an end to capitalism

      I thought that IS their plan.

        1. Don’t misunderstand them. They don’t want a Soviet style of Marxism, they want the modern Chinese version, with billionaires and quasi-private enterprise, where they pick the winners and losers. And with a very heavy dose of affirmative action. Think a cross between the PRC and South Africa.

          As for debating, why would they? They own the propaganda machine, they control the schools , they control most of Corporate America, they have everyone in the Sportsball Industrial Complex bending a knee. They have nothing to gain by having their senile candidate debate, and everything to lose.

          1. In Colorado,

            Exactly. Some weird combo of Communist BS with the illusion of Democracy and freedom. Bernie Sanders called it Democratic Socialism. What a con artist.

    4. ‘New Yorkers who can’t pay rent due to the hardships of Covid-19 already can’t legally be evicted right now, but Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has co-sponsored a bill that would do more for them: cancel rent and mortgage payments nationwide for the duration of the pandemic. Even Joe Biden is on board: ‘Not paid later, forgiveness,’ he stressed’

      Fawk.These.People.

  4. ‘Militants thought it was ‘a gigantic bluff.’ ‘They cannot afford to go through with the foreclosures,’ they claimed. ‘All we need to do to beat them is not to pay City Housing a nickel. Let us keep our lines fast.’ They mastered the theater of protest, carrying signs proclaiming, ‘Rockefeller puts families out of homes.’ A siren at one home brought dozens of neighbors running to confront the sheriff; housewives pelted deputies with flour. One eviction featured a mock funeral, with a coffin for the family home’

    You can see that over the top hysterics are nothing new.

    ‘As Gov. Gavin Newsom declared just a few months ago: ‘This is our cause. This is our calling.’

    Ahem…

  5. ‘By March, they were at 8th Street,’ he said. ‘Then by April and May, they were at 6th.’ Going for a walk became difficult, he said. There was meth smoke in the air, and he worried that his dog would step on a needle. When prospective renters made appointments to tour a unit and never showed up, he understood why’

    One of these articles ask why didn’t we fix stuff when times were good?

    ‘The building he manages, which had a vacancy rate of almost 10% in 2019, now stands 30% empty’

    10% in 2019? But UHS says hotcakes? Shortage! And now yer fooked. Don’t listen to con man UHS.

    1. 10% in 2019? But UHS says hotcakes? Shortage!

      The landlord was being greedy. He’d rather ask too much and keep the apt empty than rent it for a market rate. I have seen this in Chicago where apt will go empty for a year or more, even in my building.

  7. ‘Even Joe Biden is on board: ‘Not paid later, forgiveness’

    This ties in with the theory I put out this past week, about extreme positions were adopted by the opposition after Brexit and the current president were elected. It wasn’t that long ago that Pelosi openly mocked the little sandanista, remember? In a sane world, dem leaders would reject commie crap. Now we’re all gonna ride around in horse drawn buggies and no one will go to Europe or Hawaii unless they swim?

    Uhh, you people have lost yer freaking minds!

    1. It wasn’t that long ago that Pelosi openly mocked the little sandanista, remember?

      The corrupt old-guard corporate Democrats like Comrade Pelosi see “progressives” like The Squad as a threat, because the latter want to wrest control of the Democrat’s lucrative patronage and graft networks, and influence peddling schemes. But these Old Guard dinosaurs are on the way out, as in our oligarch-looted economy the radical left is recruiting like crazy among disaffected youth with no future under our crony capitalist system (exemplified by Biden, Pelosi, Crooked Hillary, and their ilk) and instead are flocking to more avowed and larcenous Marxists like The Squad.

    2. Uhh, you people have lost yer freaking minds! For several months now I have been telling various people that I believe the USA as a human group has gone insane. And I’ve had more than a bit of formal training in spotting & treating insanity in individual patients. National insanity is a bit out of my paygrade, but I call as I see it, and you can’t say fairer than that.

  8. “According to a survey from the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, landlords reported their property income accounted for at least a quarter of their retirement income. One in four landlords reported borrowing funds to make ends meet. Almost two in five were concerned about making ends meet in the next 90 days.”

    “… borrowing funds to make ends meet.”

    Bahahahahahahahahahahaha … and into my bank they will drag their sorry asses, their hats in their hands, spiritually defeated and fully prepared to sign any document I choose to lay out before them. A real Gotcha situation.

    I absolutely LIVE for these moments.

    😁

  9. ‘Rebelo cleans homes in San Francisco and the Oakland hills but, since March, she has lost several clients and more than half of her earnings, she said. Rebelo is one of hundreds of thousands of Bay Area renters who saw their incomes drop during the pandemic, as shelter-in-place and social distancing measures became the norm. The economic slowdown has compounded the stress on families for whom the regional housing market was already unaffordable — and the strain is felt especially in lower-income areas like Fruitvale.’

    ‘Even before the pandemic, many in Fruitvale and adjacent parts of East Oakland were already spending a big share of their paychecks on rent and had no financial cushion to cope with lost income, said Carolina Reid, an assistant professor in city and regional planning at UC Berkeley.’

    “It’s hard to come up with the words that are sufficient to describe what a crisis this must be for some households in terms of concerns over their health … concerns over paying rent,” said Reid, a researcher at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation.’

    ‘As many as 5.4 million people in California are at risk of eviction, according to estimates by the Aspen Institute. “It’s going to increase homelessness and it’s also going to have an impact on our ability to have economic recovery,” Reid said. “We are in for a prolonged recession, if not worse, if we can’t get people back on their feet.”

    ‘To avoid massive evictions, Reid said, the federal government must continue to provide cash assistance to people who’ve been financially hurt by the pandemic, so they can pay for rent, groceries and other basic needs — and help keep the larger economy afloat.’

    https://www.kqed.org/news/11835767/what-am-i-going-to-do-for-families-losing-wages-bay-area-rents-are-now-a-crisis

    Pound sand Carolina. Again, there’s no “federal guberment MUST” do crap in Arizona? So what’s the difference here? It’s just a state line.

    You just have to go back to work California. Big boy pants – wear em.

    2. You just have to go back to work California. Big boy pants – wear em.

      A year ago I wouldn’t have thought that California would so quickly reach its tipping point, but here we are. And instead of solving the problem, they are doubling down.

        1. can is like an anvil That thing on the ground is not a can but a piece of reinforced concrete, part of a huge subterranean mass that goes down forever, and will not move even if a major asteroid hits it.

  10. “‘It is a stopgap,’ said Debra Carlton, a lobbyist for the California Apartment Association. ‘We’re really hoping that the federal government will provide additional aid.’”

    F**k you, Debra. As a taxpayer, there’s no reason why I should be put on the hook because wanna be real estate moguls used the Fed’s gusher of Yellen Bux to speculate on housing, driving prices into the stratosphere and making rents and mortgages unaffordable for most wage-earners. In addition, since Californians voted for corrupt, incompetent leadership, let them stew in their own juice. Not.My.Problem.

    1. Not only that, what happens next month, and the month after that? It’s starting to look like some of these areas like NYC/DTLA are fooked. But ignoring reality isn’t going to make things better overall.

  11. ‘Ehab Allam has revealed for the first time that he is now prepared to sell Hull City at a loss following the club’s relegation from the Championship last month. City have been up for sale for the last six years but, despite a succession of proposed takeovers, supporters continue to wait on a change of ownership.’

    ‘Ehab Allam met with the Supporters Committee this week for the first time since relegation was confirmed and told fans they are now willing to accept significantly less than previously demanded.’

    “The asking price will vary on the league we are in,” he said. “If we are in the Premier League, it is a different price to the Championship, which is a different price to League One. “There is a market price which the market establishes, we don’t necessarily set the price, there is a valuation.”

    https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/sport/football/hull-city-sale-price-cut-4466175

    1. One thing I like about foreign soccer leagues is how teams can change leagues. For those not familiar, it works like this: Imagine if at the end of the season that the 4 MLB teams with the worst records were demoted to AAA minor leagues, and were replaced by the 4 best AAA teams.

      The thing about Hull which used to play in Premier League (the top league in England) is that it has now been demoted to AA. And they can still fall further.

      1. Some of those Euro players are paid like they perform 50 life saving operations a day. Or they were paid like that.

        1. From celebrity Net Worth:

          Lionel Messi:
          Net Worth $400 Million; Salary $80 Million
          David Beckam:
          Net Worth $400 Million; Salary $50 Million (at retirement)
          Cristiano Ronaldo:
          Net Worth $500 Million; Salary $64 Million

          1. The distribution of income in pro sports resembles corporate America. You have a couple guys making fat bank, essentially the Jeff Bezos’ of the team, then a bunch of journeyman who aren’t even making 5% of what the overpaid guys are.

        2. Yes, the last 20 years big money completely destroyed and ruined it. Before that, it was about locals, nationalities and good local athletes. A lot of “amateur” teams but with great local athletes went on an won champions league, or UEFA, and you would always see major teams from the less wealthy countries entering the last for or the final.
          This days money talks, and only a few super-clubs compete anymore. They took the putrid path of big money over anything.

          1. True, the European soccer leagues do not share revenues nor do they have salary caps. So perpetual dynasties form, while for the rest of the teams it’s a series of promotion/relegation cycles. Though once in a blue moon a dark horse wins the championship.

  12. ‘Redfin is reporting this week that a quarter (24.5%) of San Francisco-area home sellers cut their list prices during the four weeks ending August 2020, the highest share since at least 2015.

    That’s more than double the rate from a year earlier, marking the largest annual increase in the share of active listings with price drops among the 50 most populous U.S. metro areas.

    San Francisco’s price-drop rate has held steady at above 24% in late summer, clocking in at 24.1% during the most recent period in Redfin’s data–the four weeks ending Aug. 23, 2020.’

    ‘San Francisco was one of just 11 of the top 50 metros that experienced an increase in the share of listings that cut prices, rising to 24.1% from 11.4% a year earlier. Chicago, Philadelphia and New York were among the 10 other places where the rate of price drops rose from the prior year during the four weeks ending Aug. 23.’

    ‘As a result of this shift, the number of homes on the market in San Francisco surged 75% year over year during the four weeks ending Aug. 23, forcing sellers to cut prices, and giving buyers the upper hand.’

    https://www.worldpropertyjournal.com/real-estate-news/united-states/san-francisco-real-estate-news/real-estate-news-san-francisco-home-sales-report-coronavirus-impact-on-home-sales-in-2020-redfin-housing-data-12100.php

    ‘San Francisco was one of just 11 of the top 50 metros that experienced an increase in the share of listings that cut prices, rising to 24.1% from 11.4% a year earlier’

    But UHS says hotcakes, everywhere? Wa happened UHS?

  13. Suspect in Kenosha Killings Lionized the Police

    Kyle Rittenhouse, accused of killing two people during protests of a police shooting, faces six criminal counts. His social media accounts showed strong support for officers.

    By Neil MacFarquhar
    Aug. 27, 2020

    He signed up to be a cadet in a program for teenagers who aspire to be police officers. He filled his Facebook page with support for Blue Lives Matter. He sat upfront at a rally for President Trump in January, and posted images of it on TikTok. And he chose to mark his 16th birthday by raising funds for a support group for the police called Humanizing the Badge.

    Now, at age 17, Kyle H. Rittenhouse is charged with homicide in a shooting that took place as counterprotesters sparred with demonstrators in Kenosha, Wis.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/27/us/kyle-rittenhouse-kenosha.html

    1. What Neil MacFarquhar and the New York Slimes didn’t mention.

      Kyle Rittenhouse Worked As Lifeguard In Kenosha On Day Of Shooting,

      Cleaned Graffiti Off Local School After Work: Legal Team

      Chris Menahan
      InformationLiberation
      Aug. 28, 2020

      Kyle Rittenhouse was working as a community lifeguard in Kenosha on the day of the shooting, went to clean graffiti off a public high school near the Kenosha County Courthouse after work and did not carry a gun across state lines, according to a statement from his legal defense team released on Friday evening.

      “On August 25th, 2020, Kenosha spiraled into chaos following the Jacob Blake shooting. The Kenosha Mayor and Wisconsin Governor failed to provide a basic degree of law and order to protect the citizens and community buildings in Kenosha. The city burned as mobs destroyed buildings and property, and looters stole whatever they wanted. Rioters defaced storefronts, the courthouse, and many other public and private locations across the city,” Pierce Bainbridge’s John M. Pierce said in a statement sent to InformationLiberation.

      “After Kyle finished his work that day as a community lifeguard in Kenosha, he wanted to help clean up some of the damage, so he and a friend went to the local public high school to remove graffiti by rioters,” Pierce said.

      He continued: “Later in the day, they received information about a call for help from a local business owner, whose downtown Kenosha auto dealership was largely destroyed by mob violence. The business owner needed help to protect what he had left of his life’s work, including two nearby mechanic’s shops. Kyle and a friend armed themselves with rifles due to the deadly violence gripping Kenosha and many other American cities, and headed to the business premises. The weapons were in Wisconsin and never crossed state lines.”

      “The gun belonged to his friend, a Wisconsin resident,” L. Lin Wood said Friday on Twitter.

      Pierce’s statement continued: “Upon arrival, Kyle and others stood guard at the mechanic’s shop across from the auto dealership to prevent further damage or destruction. Later that night, substantially after the city’s 8:00 p.m. curfew expired without consequence, the police finally started to attempt to disperse a group of rioters. In doing so, they maneuvered a mass of individuals down the street towards the auto shops. Kyle and others on the premises were verbally threatened and taunted multiple times as the rioters passed by, but Kyle never reacted. His intent was not to incite violence, but simply to deter property damage and use his training to provide first aid to injured community members.”

      “After the crowd passed the premises and Kyle believed the threat of further destruction had passed, he became increasingly concerned with the injured protestors and bystanders congregating at a nearby gas station with no immediate access to medical assistance or help from law enforcement. Kyle headed in that direction with a first aid kit. He sought out injured persons, rendered aid, and tried to guide people to others who could assist to the extent he could do so amid the chaos. By the final time Kyle returned to the gas station and confirmed there were no more injured individuals who needed assistance, police had advanced their formation and blocked what would have been his path back to the mechanic’s shop. Kyle then complied with the police instructions not to go back there. Kyle returned to the gas station until he learned of a need to help protect the second mechanic’s shop further down the street where property destruction was imminent with no police were nearby.”

      Kyle Rittenhouse was working as a community lifeguard in Kenosha on the day of the shooting, went to clean graffiti off a public high school near the Kenosha County Courthouse after work and did not carry a gun across state lines, according to a statement from his legal defense team released on Friday evening.

      “On August 25th, 2020, Kenosha spiraled into chaos following the Jacob Blake shooting. The Kenosha Mayor and Wisconsin Governor failed to provide a basic degree of law and order to protect the citizens and community buildings in Kenosha. The city burned as mobs destroyed buildings and property, and looters stole whatever they wanted. Rioters defaced storefronts, the courthouse, and many other public and private locations across the city,” Pierce Bainbridge’s John M. Pierce said in a statement sent to InformationLiberation.

      “After Kyle finished his work that day as a community lifeguard in Kenosha, he wanted to help clean up some of the damage, so he and a friend went to the local public high school to remove graffiti by rioters,” Pierce said.

      He continued: “Later in the day, they received information about a call for help from a local business owner, whose downtown Kenosha auto dealership was largely destroyed by mob violence. The business owner needed help to protect what he had left of his life’s work, including two nearby mechanic’s shops. Kyle and a friend armed themselves with rifles due to the deadly violence gripping Kenosha and many other American cities, and headed to the business premises. The weapons were in Wisconsin and never crossed state lines.”

      “The gun belonged to his friend, a Wisconsin resident,” L. Lin Wood said Friday on Twitter.

      Pierce’s statement continued: “Upon arrival, Kyle and others stood guard at the mechanic’s shop across from the auto dealership to prevent further damage or destruction. Later that night, substantially after the city’s 8:00 p.m. curfew expired without consequence, the police finally started to attempt to disperse a group of rioters. In doing so, they maneuvered a mass of individuals down the street towards the auto shops. Kyle and others on the premises were verbally threatened and taunted multiple times as the rioters passed by, but Kyle never reacted. His intent was not to incite violence, but simply to deter property damage and use his training to provide first aid to injured community members.”

      “After the crowd passed the premises and Kyle believed the threat of further destruction had passed, he became increasingly concerned with the injured protestors and bystanders congregating at a nearby gas station with no immediate access to medical assistance or help from law enforcement. Kyle headed in that direction with a first aid kit. He sought out injured persons, rendered aid, and tried to guide people to others who could assist to the extent he could do so amid the chaos. By the final time Kyle returned to the gas station and confirmed there were no more injured individuals who needed assistance, police had advanced their formation and blocked what would have been his path back to the mechanic’s shop. Kyle then complied with the police instructions not to go back there. Kyle returned to the gas station until he learned of a need to help protect the second mechanic’s shop further down the street where property destruction was imminent with no police were nearby.”

      “As Kyle proceeded towards the second mechanic’s shop, he was accosted by multiple rioters who recognized that he had been attempting to protect a business the mob wanted to destroy. This outraged the rioters and created a mob now determined to hurt Kyle. They began chasing him down. Kyle attempted to get away, but he could not do so quickly enough. Upon the sound of a gunshot behind him, Kyle turned and was immediately faced with an attacker lunging towards him and reaching for his rifle.”

      “He reacted instantaneously and justifiably with his weapon to protect himself, firing and striking the attacker.”

      “Kyle stopped to ensure care for the wounded attacker but faced a growing mob gesturing towards him. He realized he needed to flee for his safety and his survival. Another attacker struck Kyle from behind as he fled down the street. Kyle turned as the mob pressed in on him and he fell to the ground. One attacker kicked Kyle on the ground while he was on the ground. Yet another bashed him over the head with a skateboard. Several rioters tried to disarm Kyle. In fear for his life and concerned the crowd would either continue to shoot at him or even use his own weapon against him, Kyle had no choice but to fire multiple rounds towards his immediate attackers, striking two, including one armed attacker. The rest of the mob began to disperse upon hearing the additional gunshots.”

      “Kyle got up and continued down the street in the direction of police with his hands in the air. He attempted to contact multiple police officers, but they were more concerned with the wounded attackers.”

      “The police did not take Kyle into custody at that time, but instead they indicated he should keep moving.”

      “He fully cooperated, both then and later that night when he turned himself in to the police in his hometown, Antioch, Illinois.”

      “Kyle did nothing wrong,” Pierce said. “He exercised his God-given, Constitutional, common law and statutory law right to self-defense.”

      He continued: “However, in a reactionary rush to appease the divisive, destructive forces currently roiling this country, prosecutors in Kenosha did not engage in any meaningful analysis of the facts, or any in-depth review of available video footage (some of which shows that a critical state’s witness was not even at the area where the shots were fired); this was not a serious investigation. Rather, after learning Kyle may have had conservative political viewpoints, they immediately saw him as a convenient target who they could use as a scapegoat to distract from the Jacob Blake shooting and the government’s abject failure to ensure basic law and order to citizens. Within 24-36 hours, he was charged with multiple homicide counts.”

      Pierce said Rittenhouse “has the best legal representation in the country” with “help from Nicholas Sandmann attorney L. Lin Wood, Pierce Bainbridge and multiple top-tier criminal defense lawyers.”

      “Today, his legal team was successful in working with the public defender to obtain a several-week continuance of his extradition hearing to September 25th,” Pierce said. “This at least partially slows down the rush to judgment by a government and media that is determined to assassinate his character and destroy his life.”

      “Kyle, his family, the team at Pierce Bainbridge and his other lawyers intend to fight these charges every step of the way, take the case to trial and win an acquittal on the grounds of self-defense before a jury of his peers.”

      https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=61686

      1. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a shakedown racket masquerading as a “civil rights organization,” designates anyone who challenges globalist-ordained dogma as “far right” or members of “hate groups”. Most of its founders and senior staff were finally dismissed last year due to their years of sexual harassment of young female staffers. The SPLC’s propaganda is always instructive, however, as its lies, distortions, and omissions contain their own kind of truth. Here is their statement on the events in Kenosha:

        https://www.splcenter.org/presscenter/splc-response-deadly-overnight-shooting-kenosha-wisconsin

        “It’s heartbreaking to see the events of the last few days in Kenosha. While law enforcement stood idly by, an emboldened vigilante took two lives and injured one. It is inexplicable that the police failed to protect demonstrators, and it raises serious questions about the role of law enforcement in this tragedy. We call for a full and comprehensive investigation into the role and responsibility of law enforcement in these crimes, and the police must be held accountable for their failure to protect demonstrators in their communities.”

        Sure, SPLC – shame on police for failing to protect rioters, looters, and arsonists as they went about their globalist-directed orgy of mayhem and destruction.

        1. “Sure, SPLC – shame on police for failing to protect rioters, looters, and arsonists as they went about their globalist-directed orgy of mayhem and destruction.”

          Well said, Boo. The moderates, who direct the radicals, are waiting to take charge once the shooting ends. The first order of business, if successful, will be to imprison their own radicals…because sharing isn’t in the plan, and they’re too difficult to negotiate with.

      2. “Kyle Rittenhouse Worked As Lifeguard In Kenosha On Day Of Shooting,”

        So he is the victim? Ah the whitewashing commences without a fail….

        2. So he is the victim? Ah the whitewashing commences without a fail….

          A little slow on the uptake, huh? What part of being chased and attacked by an angry mob are you missing, snowflake?

      4. The kid had a history of drug abuse and had been arrested several times. Not quite the choirboy you portray.

    2. You have to be an absolute moron to lionize the police, especially the american police force.

      2. ZM, by now you know that this board is too smart to accept simple barbs without some semblence of support. Maybe you could explain why it’s a bad thing to have admiration for the police? Specifics are more likely to be acknowledged and addressed. Keep in mind how many police there are in the country and what they do.

        1. They’re not smart and they aren’t going to learn anytime soon, kinda like that pedo and the guy who attacked Kyle with a skateboard. AR-15 for the win, and stupid loses yet again

        2. “Maybe you could explain why it’s a bad thing to have admiration for the police? ”

          Duncan Lemp comes to mind.

  14. CoStar Group
    New Suburban Boston Rentals on the Block
    Houston-based developer Hanover Company is shopping a year-old luxury apartment property in suburban Boston.

    New, on the block?

  15. ‘The suit includes 29 previous incidents at the mansion dating back to last Nov. 5, most of which involved complaints about loud music. The owners of the mansion — Cao “Charles” Xin and Olivia Lei Zhao — are named as defendants, alongside Davante Dajon Bell, who is listed in the complaint as a “self-employed event coordinator host/promoter” of such events as last Saturday’s party.’

    ‘The suit asks that Bell, who allegedly ignored police orders to shut down the party, is prohibited from promoting, organizing, sponsoring or coordinating any gathering of any type in violation of the Glendora Municipal Code and applicable health orders.’

    ‘It also states that Xin and Zhao did not try to stop the party, despite having the ability to do so under the short-term rental agreement.’

    https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2020/08/28/glendora-city-council-enacts-45-day-ban-on-short-term-rentals-following-illegal-mansion-party/

    1. a letter from Paul D. Plumb

      ‘I recommend total support of the Planning Commission’s July 28, 2020 decision to deny this subject ‘Special Permit’ change request for Crown Manor. Would you want a ‘Hotel del Coronado Event Center and Lodging Annex’ next to your home? I certainly would not!’

      ‘This requested change would begin the destruction of Coronado residential integrity by allowing short term rentals in a classic R-1A area. Family homes with productive neighbors and vibrant neighborhoods are what make Coronado such a wonderful place to live and raise a family. The Coronado Historical Association letter in the Aug. 5 Eagle & Journal fully explained this issue, and I support their position 100%.’

      ‘Short term rentals destroy communities and totally change the dynamic of neighborhoods. Resident owners are supplanted by investor owners pitting resident owners against short term and possibly noisy renters. Review what has happened, and is still happening in Pacific Beach and other San Diego beach communities. Investors buy homes in residential areas and then rent them through VRBO or Airbnb. Both parking and noise issues are exacerbated by short term renters, who have no interest in the family neighborhood.’

      ‘Where would the “hotelization” of Coronado end were the Planning Commission’s decision to be overturned by the City Council? If we were to allow this proposal to go forward, beautiful, large homes in residential areas would be targets for investors wanting to do the same thing as this Special Permit change request. I do not want Coronado to be ruined, and I support current zoning for all R-1A areas.’

      http://www.coronadonewsca.com/opinion/crown-manor-major-special-permit-issue/article_abe2fe34-e968-11ea-b7e4-5fb76eb178bd.html

  16. Real Journalists of the Huffington Post provide the following anti Second Amendment narrative:

    “Steven Gardiner, a research analyst at Political Research Associates, a social justice think tank that monitors the far-right, said there has been a “tremendous increase” in right-wing paramilitary activity this year.

    At Black Lives Matter protests following the police killing of Floyd, disparate paramilitary and vigilante groups — Boogaloo Bois, III Percenters, Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and white nationalists — became a regular fixture of right-wing counterprotests.

    “Going forward, we need to seriously reconsider the permissiveness with which we are allowing armed paramilitaries to roam the streets of our nation’s towns and cities, as if this is normal,” Gardiner said. “There’s nothing normal about this. We don’t want to be living in a war zone.”

    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/white-vigilantes-kenosha_n_5f4822bcc5b6cf66b2b5103e

    The “war zone” was created by BLM / Antifa.

    Try stomping your feet and calling whitey racist again, because it worked so well in 2016, right?

  18. ‘Taxpayers of America, you may soon be funding a $500 billion bailout of the 50 states, all U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “HEROES Act” vividly illustrates why transparency is crucial. If the U.S. Senate passes the legislation, taxpaying citizens of financially responsible states will bear the burden of financially irresponsible states. ‘

    ‘California stands out among the bad actors. In the so-called Golden State, 341,000 state and local government employees earn more than $100,000 in paychecks and pension payments. If the cost of living in California necessitates such salaries, the state should tackle local government policies designed to keep housing prices high. Or begin taming the public employee unions, whose bargaining helped 44 lifeguards in Los Angeles County earn between $300,000 and $365,000. Not to mention the $501,000 per year nurse working for the university medical system. ’

    ‘In San Francisco alone, 9,425 employees earn total compensation exceeding $200,000 annually. The city disclosed that a sheriff in corrections made $315,000 last year in overtime. In San Francisco, taxpayers cough up over $452,421 annually to pay a salary ($343,000) and benefits ($109,447) to Mayor London Breed. This is the highest in the country.’

    ‘Members of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors are also generous to themselves, but these public servants didn’t earn their steady raises by running a tight ship. According to the state controller’s government compensation website, over a five-year period from 2013 to 2018, the amount that San Francisco paid out in total wages jumped 27.6 percent, from $2.9 billion for 35,771 employees to $3.7 billion in total wages to 40,951 employees in 2018.’

    ‘Among the new hires: The members of “poop patrol,” who are paid $184,000 a year to clean up human waste left by the city’s burgeoning homeless population.’

    ‘Pelosi, who came of age in San Francisco politics, and Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was born and raised there, aren’t looking to local politicians to tighten their belts or enact smarter policies. Both are looking for Washington to simply bail out the city, along with the rest of the state. California would reap $48 billion from the Pelosi Bailout Bill – nearly a dollar-for-dollar bailout of its highly compensated employees.’  
    ‘And that’s just California. Remember, Pelosi’s monster bill weighs in at half a trillion dollars. Meanwhile, the federal debt continues to explode. It has quadrupled in the last 20 years. Today, it has surpassed $23 trillion and is rising rapidly. The deficit this year is unknown. It will be somewhere around $4 trillion, the equivalent of a wartime deficit. The entire federal debt in 1992 – after 216 years, two world wars, depressions, countless natural disasters – was $4 trillion.’ 

    ‘The Pelosi state bailout bill clearly screams, “So what? It’s not my money.” By the time our country’s debt becomes so corrosive to your livelihood, to your life, that it can’t be ignored – as it will – Pelosi and the big spenders in both major political parties will be long out of office.’

    ‘Some “Heroes Act.” Heroes to whom?’

    https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/op-ed-will-your-tax-dollars-bail-out-california-s-reckless-spending/article_be05f6c4-e94b-11ea-b682-c7a2af39f889.html

    1. ‘The Carmel Fire rolled up to the vineyards Jack Galante owned up until a month ago. It burned the edges, sent enough smoke in the air to potentially taint the grapes, then backed off and kept moving, eventually destroying 73 structures and damaging seven, many were million-dollar Sky Ranch homes. This all happened about five years after Galante and Cal Fire put to bed a request to do a prescribed burn in that area, which could have mitigated the intensity of the blaze. Galante said he didn’t know why it died, but believed it had something to do with Cal Fire’s bureaucracy.’

      ‘A Cal Fire representative, though, said the residents of Sky Ranch shot the proposal down. Residents didn’t want a controlled fire near their homes. But, experts argue, controlled or prescribed burns are key to avoiding destructive wildfires.’

      ‘In both the Carmel and River fires, few, if any, controlled burns had been done in the original footprints of the flames in the last 10 years, virtually ensuring that any fire that started in that area would have plenty of fuel to burn.’

      ‘Jonathan Pangburn, San Benito-Monterey Cal Fire forester and director of the local agency’s prescribed burn program, said the area in which the River Fire first gained traction hadn’t had a fire in recorded history. This helped feed the flames that destroyed 43 structures and put about 20,000 people under evacuation warnings or advisories at the height of the fire.’

      ‘Every fire that burned in Monterey County is in Supervisor Mary Adams’ district, which covers the southernmost unincorporated area of Salinas, Carmel Valley, Palo Colorado Canyon, Big Sur, and more. “My district is usually viewed as heaven, but right now, with all the fires, it’s more like hell,” Adams said.’

      https://www.thecalifornian.com/story/news/2020/08/28/residents-shot-down-california-prescribed-burn-mitigated-carmel-fire/5621524002/

    2. ‘California stands out among the bad actors. In the so-called Golden State, 341,000 state and local government employees earn more than $100,000 in paychecks and pension payments. If the cost of living in California necessitates such salaries, the state should tackle local government policies designed to keep housing prices high. Or begin taming the public employee unions, whose bargaining helped 44 lifeguards in Los Angeles County earn between $300,000 and $365,000. Not to mention the $501,000 per year nurse working for the university medical system. ’

      This is straight up theft.

    3. Lots of public employees in Red States like Texas make more than100K too. As do lots of people doing similar jobs in the private sector. I thought conservatives didn’t like to play the envy and resentment game.

  19. They are waiting for Biden! Three problems with that
    1. He might not get elected
    2. Even if he does, he can’t actually do anything till late January at the earliest
    3. What he does might not be what they want him to do

    Clutching at a lot of straws they are.

    1. The bigger problem is that the real economy, as opposed to the Wall Street speculative casino, is in a free-fall. That is going to massively impact the tax base, as well as dramatically increasing the competition for Federal relief money. The “solution” from the Fed and the Republicrat duopoly, printing more trillions out of thin air, is going to further destroy American’s purchasing power and push them deeper into the hole. We need a full-scale implosion of the Everything Bubble to purge the speculative excesses and fictitious valuations from the financial system, and to expose the consequences of letting Keynesian fraudsters control our money issuance.

      1. They bailed out Wall Street again.

        How about stopping the corporate bond purchases (let along moving on to CBMS) and driving businesses into mass bankruptcy, before we start the evictions? They can reorganize.

      2. Should be interesting when denial among risk asset* HODLers gives way to fear, bargaining, and acceptance of the state of economic reality that determines stock prices beyond the short run.

        * Stocks, housing, crypto, etc.

  20. ‘Confirming this week that The Real Housewives of New York City cast member Dorinda Medley was fired from the show, she now stands to lose more than just her television contract. In return for promoting the Tony Oriana apartment building on the show, Medley could live rent-free in a three-bedroom condo.’

    ‘But since her contract has effectively been cut from the show, she could lose her apartment as well. That would leave her jobless, and homeless. It is not clear on what other terms the apartment was negotiated for, as sources have confirmed that Medley still lives in the building with no sign of moving out.’

    “She’s a very shrewd business person. She’s very good at leveraging her platform,” a source said.’

    ‘Medley was apparently fired from the show for becoming “mean” when drunk.’

    https://okmagazine.com/news/rhony-dorinda-medley-could-be-homeless/

    1. There’s always prostitution, Dorinda. That would be a step up from being a “Real Housewives” alumni.

        1. The right combination of meds and talk therapy could help you with that Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS).

  21. “From the beginning, California leaders have pinned their hopes on a federal rescue package that would include money for tenants and landlords. That hasn’t happened. Now leaders are hoping that after the November election, a Biden administration will bail out renters, landlords and the state budget. But that’s a risky gamble that could end very badly.”

    It seems like a lame and shaky political strategy to count on a future Biden administration for bailouts. I guess the governor missed his ex-wife’s RNC speech?
    Or the news about Trump’s post-convention bounce in the polls?

  22. California is somewhere on the spectrum from a disaster underway to a disaster in waiting, while hoping and praying for bailouts to drop from the sky to forestall outright collapse. Meanwhile the thunderous herd leaving the state gets larger by the day.

    1. The Orange County Register
      Opinion
      California can’t afford staggering tax hikes, especially in times like this
      In this August 2016 file photo, the dome of the state Capitol glows in the early evening in Sacramento.
      (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
      By Leah Vukmir |
      PUBLISHED: August 14, 2020 at 9:10 p.m. | UPDATED: August 14, 2020 at 9:10 p.m.

      “Go east, young man” could be the new rally cry coming out of California if state lawmakers have their way and pass Assembly Bill 1253 — a massive retroactive tax hike proposal being rushed through the California Legislature ahead of the August 31 session deadline.

      California, like so many states, is facing an economic downturn due the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

      The Legislature should be looking for ways to help a crippling economy, not inflict more damage. If tax increases like AB1253 becomes the law of the state, look for a wave of 21st century pioneers flocking to friendlier economic frontiers in neighboring states.

      Californians be warned. The Golden State already tops the national scales by having the highest personal income tax rate. Now lawmakers want to add an additional tax hike that would be retroactive to January 1, 2020?

      Proponents of AB1253 claim it will raise between $6 billion and 8 billion in new tax revenues. The bill calls for a three-tier income tax surcharge. The proposed tax scheme would blow past the current 13.3 percent top tax rate for individuals by increasing the rate to 14.3 percent for incomes above $1 million, topping out at 16.8 percent for incomes above $5 million.

      Fear of future arbitrary actions by a legislature can seriously depress the business climate of the state. The threat of tax increases alone will deter companies from considering new business ventures in California. Making the tax retroactive creates even more uncertainty for business owners. How long will it take before the sound of an impending stampede of individuals and businesses preparing to leave the state will be heard in the distance? Take a lesson from Maryland: After passing a so-called millionaire tax in 2008, it was reported that nearly one-third of the state’s millionaires fled.

      While it may be a great sound bite for campaign literature, “sticking it to the rich” and relying on revenue from a small group of top income earners is a recipe for disaster, especially given the current economic conditions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. All it will take is for a handful of companies to experience financial setbacks and suddenly there will be gaping holes in the state budget. There go the projected revenues!

      As if this scenario is not bad enough for the business climate in the state, Prop. 15 will be put before California voters in November as well. This initiative, if passed, will hurt businesses by imposing an additional $7.5 billion in property taxes.

      Why in the world would any savvy business owner want to stay in California? And if and when the businesses leave, thousands of hard-working employees will be left without a way to pay their bills, adding to California’s already ballooning unemployment rate. That is, of course, if they don’t decide to leave themselves.
      …

  23. “…a Biden administration will bail out renters, landlords…”

    Did Biden have a role in the decision by California’s leaders to kill the economy and to prevent landlords from getting paid? If not, why are bailouts a given, even if he wins?

    1. Sounds like they are kicking the can down the road to Inauguration Day while banking on the inevitability of a Biden victory.

      California leaders reach deal to prevent evictions caused by COVID-19
      by Associated Press
      Friday, August 28th 2020
      SACRAMENTO, CA – FEBRUARY 18: A view of the California State Capitol February 18, 2009 in Sacramento, California. After days of wrangling, the California State Senate secured the necessary two-thirds majority to pass a $41 billion budget after Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) broke party lines and voted for the budget. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

      SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Californians who can’t pay rent because of the coronavirus could stay in their homes through at least Jan. 31, but only if they pay a portion of some missed payments under a proposal endorsed Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislative leaders.

      The California court system has halted most eviction and foreclosure proceedings since April 6 because of the pandemic. But those protections will expire Tuesday, prompting fears of a wave of evictions in a state that already has the largest homeless population in the country.

      Lawmakers have been rushing to come up with a bill to extend those eviction protections while balancing the impact on landlords, many of whom depend on rent payments to pay their mortgages.

      The proposal Newsom announced Friday would ban evictions for unpaid rent because of the coronavirus for money owed between March 1 and Aug. 31. From Sept. 1 through Jan. 31, tenants must pay at least 25% of their cumulatively owed rent. If they don’t, they can be evicted.

      Tenants would have to sign a document. under penalty of perjury, that says they cannot pay their rent because of a coronavirus-related economic hardship. Higher-income renters — defined as people who make at least $130,000 a year or 13% of the area’s median income, whichever is larger — must provide proof that they cannot pay their rent because of the virus.

      The bill would not forgive the missed payments. Tenants would still owe the money. Landlords could sue them to get the money back, and a judge could order them to pay it. But tenants could not be evicted.

      The bill does not protect landlords from foreclosures. But it would extend the California Homeowner Bill of Rights to small rental properties of up to four units. The Homeowner Bill of Rights provides some foreclosure protections, but right now it only applies to owner-occupied homes.

      “Literally millions of people being evicted or at least subject to eviction substantially was mitigated because of this,” Newsom said.
      …

    2. Kosminski,

      Again, another great post from you. I love the Speakers ability in this tape to sum up some pretty complex issues so well.

      I also like the fact that he mentioned Agenda 21 because I always thought that Agenda 21 was operative in all the power grabs we have been witnessing.
      Thanks.

      1. Yes, he’s good at putting together what the power elite are up to and very good at guessing what their next move might be. He has a logical mind and is a natural skeptic on what guys like Farci and Gates are trying to do. He’s in this fight to the end.

        Oh, and you’re very welcome.

  25. Is this what a Biden-Harris presidency would bring us?

    “We are left with irreconcilable models of state power. The liberal government of the 1930s provided what relief and regulatory reform it could, but rents and mortgages were a private matter. Today’s progressives recognize no economic arrangement as being in any way sacrosanct. They seek to direct the economy to serve social justice, and see no constitutional impediments ahead.”

    1. Throwing people into poverty is a well known tool to get their compliance. As evil as that is, that is being employed .

      The people have the ability to reject this sinister attempt by ( evil forces) to take their freedom and life.

      P S I call them evil forces , but I have a good idea who they might be.

      1. “Throwing people into poverty is a well known tool to get their compliance.”

        Democrat votership compliance strategy:

        1) Throw people into poverty.
        2) Offer free stuff to the impoverished in exchange for their votes.
        3) Maintain Democratic voter base through permanent dependence on free stuff.

        1. An interesting observation given the hundreds upon hundreds of posts from four years ago telling us that our soon to be president was a reincarnation of Hitler. Just sayin.

  26. “We’re all dealing with the immediate consequences of the coronavirus pandemic”
    No, you’re dealing with twenty years of reckless financial behavior! From FED to banks, and from landlords to consumers, everyone lived in a dream printing and spending like there was no tomorrow. Well, tomorrow is here! Deal with it. It’s practically impossible to rescue a 200% inflated economy on 25% taxes. Unless we borrow some from the martians.

    1. Well said, although the fiscal profligacy goes back a lot further than 20 years. LBJ kicked it into high gear when he took silver out of the coinage following the JFK assassination, and cleared the path for the Fed’s increasingly reckless Keynesian monetary experiments and currency debasement.

    2. “… Unless we borrow some from the martians…”

      Its that what the future landing on Mars is all about? <;}

    1. Wait. I think we can return to capitalism with limited Government.

      I’m not saying that it will be easy to undo the mess that was made. In fact, I think we were already overtaken in the US about 23 years ago. That’s why we have so many problems.
      But, in my youth in the USA I lived in the nearest thing to capitalism and limited government in modern times. I can’t believe how much better it was, except for some wars we were engaged in and some civil rights that needed to be assured for all.

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