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When You’re A Fruit Picker Loaned 50 Times Your Salary, It’s Little Trouble To Walk Away

It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “Raymond Martin and his wife listed their home in Austin, Texas, for sale for $1.1 million in early May. They figured selling the four-bedroom, three-bath house would be ‘a walk in the park.’ Instead, the Martins have yet to receive a single offer and have lowered their asking price to $899,000. Raymond Martin noted that shortly before listing his Austin home, a neighbor sold their similar-sized home for $100,000 over the $1 million asking price. The couple is living in a new home in Florida while patiently trying to sell the Austin property. ‘Clearly, the market’s kind of stalled,’ he said.”

“Rising inventory helped moderate median home prices in Fort Worth, which dipped from $367,000 in May to $363,000 in June. Median home prices declined even more in Parker County, dropping from $473,900 in May to $450,000 in June. ‘We are at that time of the year when we see home prices at their peak, but recently we’ve seen more price reductions,’ said Shannon Ashkinos, president of the Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors. ‘This could be indicative of sellers continuing to try to overprice and the market making an adjustment,’ Ashkinos said. ‘But it’s likely we’re headed toward a normalized market. The question is, what does that look like now?'”

“Data company Clever Real Estate has ranked Orlando as the number one city in the country with the highest vacancy rate. But the good news, according to local real estate broker Antonio Srado, is the market seems to be cooling due to inflation and higher interest rates. ‘Now we’re starting to feel some stabilization. Some properties are staying on the market longer and prices are dropping, not substantially, but prices are dropping as a result of that,’ Srado said.”

“Prospective home buyers are already noticing the impact on the housing market with the return of price reductions on some real estate listings around Sioux Falls. ‘It’s been a couple years. We just haven’t seen it,’ broker Tony Bachman said. ‘Everyone had been pricing their home according to what the neighbor sold their home for two months ago. Now we actually probably need to pull back a little bit.’ While the rapid increase we saw in home prices last year may be slowing down, agents say competition is still incredibly high, especially in the first-time home buyer market. ‘There were six people bidding on a $300,000 house,’ said mortgage banker Dave Kelley.”

“According to the South Carolina REALTORS, compared to this time last year, home sales have declined in the state by 13%. Sharon Bishop has been an upstate realtor for 27 years. As of lately, she’s been pretty busy but, she says there’s been a slight shift. To get sales back up, now sellers are offering more. ‘And then we are seeing some builders offer incentives and some of the sellers are also offering some incentives like closing costs, whereas before maybe they wouldn’t have done that,’ Bishop said.”

“The real-estate market is changing drastically, according to the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. In Salt Lake County, total home sales (condos, single family, etc.) for June fell to just 1,344. That’s the lowest June sales in a decade. For the past three quarters, homes were selling in just six days, but now the average ‘days on market’ is 21 days. There are now three times the normal inventory of properties for sale than pre-pandemic number. I just helped some sellers go under contract on their home after a three-day negotiation. In order to seal the deal, sellers paid $12,000 in the buyers’ closing/mortgage costs and agreed to pay the buyers’ rent for 30 days after close of escrow, as they await their new home to be finished so they can move. I haven’t seen sellers pay closing costs in at least two years. Now with the slowdown, buyers might be able to pay the asking price—not $100,000 over ask!”

“‘The Arizona housing market is experiencing one of the most rapid reversals in real estate history,’ said Greg Hague, CEO of Scottsdale-based 72Sold. ‘Fast rising interest rates have depressed buyer demand, and a dramatic increase in homes for sale has made buyers more cautious and price sensitive,’ he said. ‘This is why the latest stats show the median price of Phoenix metro homes decline by almost 5% in the past two months.'”

“‘A period of recalibration is now front and center in the Phoenix housing market,’ said Steven Hensley, market advisory manager for Zonda. Pointing to Redfin data, Hensley said the percentage of active listings with price drops reached 44% in June, the highest level experienced in over three years. ‘This suggests that resale home values are already adjusting to demand after rapidly rising interest rates, which began in March, pushed affordability to its brink,’ Hensley said. ‘When today’s interest rates are factored in, the typical ratio of monthly payment to local income is now the highest in recent history. Builders continue to offer incentives, primarily towards financing, which means net base prices are falling. A price correction appears imminent, but we are hesitant to suggest that a crash is coming. If home prices fell 10% between now and the end of the year, prices would be in line with where they were at heading into 2022.'”

“San Diego’s real estate market has been on an upward trajectory for the past two years. The median price for a single-family home was $590,000 in March of 2020. This year it rose to $850,000 … $1 million by some estimates. But that high was short-lived. Real estate prices are down 2.9% this month, making the median price of a home $825,000, and some people are speculating that with rising inflation and interest rates, the median price could drop even farther. ‘Markets are always going to ebb and flow,’ said realtor Alexander Ciullo. Ciullo admitted that the amount of time each listing stays on the market has lengthened in the past month. At the height of the housing market, homes would sell in four to five days, said Ciullo. ‘Now we’re looking at 10 to 21 days,’ he added.”

“Cancelled property listings are increasing across the Greater Toronto Area at a rapid rate. Slate Realty Inc., found that sellers scrapped 2,822 listings in June, a 643-per-cent spike from 380 cancellations in January. ‘Many sellers are still operating under the impression that this is a seller’s market, so they are listing too high and not seeing any action,’ Alex Hood, a Strata realtor, said in the report. ‘At the same time, rising inflation and interest rates are making buyers feel uncertain about the trajectory of the market, which is causing them to be more conservative with their bids.'”

“Is Belgrade a party town or a polluted Gotham? This city of some 1.7 million people, once capital of federal Yugoslavia and now Serbia, has changed rapidly over the past decade. ‘Housing is being commodified and perceived as any other good,’ Iva Cukic, co-founder of the Ministry of Space NGO told BIRN. ‘It is being treated as an investment and not a way to get a roof over a family’s head. It’s a speculation bubble. There are serious concerns also about money being laundering through construction.'”

“The seasonally adjusted average home price in Canada was down nearly 8% in June from a peak earlier this year. In New Zealand, prices had slipped 8% in June from their peak in late 2021. Prices in Sweden in May fell 1.6% from the previous month, the biggest monthly decline since the pandemic began. Asif Abbas Mehdi, a business owner in New Zealand’s Waikato dairy-farming region, said he has been trying to sell a three-bedroom, two bathroom townhouse for four months. Initially he sought NZ$730,000 (US$450,000), then NZ$680,000 (US$419,000). He is reluctant to go lower than that.”

“‘If nothing happens at 680,000, I might have to pull it off the market,’ Mr. Mehdi said.”

“Earlier this year, Nguyen Thi Chau, an investor in Hanoi, decided to use her savings and borrowed money to buy a 1,000 sqm land plot in Hoa Binh for VND4 billion. Some months later, a broker called her and asked if she wanted to sell the land plot at VND5 billion. Chau did not do so because she believed that land prices would increase further in the future. However, contrary to Chau’s prediction, there have been very few transactions. Chau is nervous as she cannot sell the land to pay debts. She told a broker that she would sell for VND4.3 billion, but she still cannot find buyers.”

“Like Chau, Nguyen Thi Huong in Ba Dinh district in Hanoi is also worried as she still cannot sell a row house in the suburbs which she bought at VND6.5 billion. If the house is not sold, Huong will see her capital ‘buried’ in the land for a long time. Nguyen Van Tien in Cau Giay district in Hanoi is offering to sell a 100 sq m land plot in Thach That. At first, he set the price of VND1.5 billion, but later, because there was no buyer, he lowered the price to VND1.2 billion, while he had to spend VND1.5 billion to buy the plot last year. Tien was worried that land fever is over and his money will get stuck.”

“Ads about the sale of land plots in the suburbs and city neighborhoods can be found everywhere, including newspapers and social networks. The owners of land plots say they are selling at a loss as they need money to pay debts. Analysts said the bubble is becoming larger and will burst one day when people have to sell land and houses at a loss. VARS chair Nguyen Van Dinh noted that it is now ‘easy to buy, difficult to sell.’ As buyers become more cautious and hesitate to buy real estate, it is difficult to sell products at this moment. Meanwhile, capital flow congestion will freeze real estate projects.”

“Here’s a scenario. You buy a pre-construction apartment and start paying the mortgage before it’s complete. The developer halts the project, has defaulted on its debt and it looks like the property may never get built. You hear of buyers elsewhere who have stopped making their loan payments. This encapsulates the dilemma for the Chinese government in coming to the aid of buyers in stalled housing projects.”

“Just as troubling is the emergence of such non-payment tactics in the first place, a strain of behavior hitherto unknown in China. The country has long been assumed to be immune from the type of self-feeding mortgage spiral that drove the US subprime crisis. When you’re a fruit picker loaned 50 times your salary to buy a US$750,000 (RM3.3mil) house with no money down, it’s little trouble to walk away if the market turns south.”

“Mr Zhao deposited his life savings into a bank in central China, but now can’t access any of it.  The 44-year-old said his 1 million yuan ($217,000) had been frozen since April. ‘All of my life savings suddenly turned to zero. I am at a loss,’ he said. Mr Zhao — who only wanted to use his surname because of fear of retribution from local authorities for speaking to media — is among 400,000 people impacted by one of China’s biggest banking sagas.”

“Six banks in rural China have been hit hard by Beijing’s efforts to rein in a property bubble and spiralling debt, in a financial crackdown that has had ripple effects across the world’s second-largest economy. The slowdown forced four banks in Henan province, and two in Anhui province, to freeze all cash withdrawals since mid-April, leaving thousands of small savers without funds and sparking rare, sometimes violent, protests. When it comes to China’s economic woes, the banking issue is just the tip of the iceberg.”

“Gary Wang, 25, could not pay for all his purchases, but he kept buying anyway. The smartphones and clothes that appeared on the Chinese apps he used for watching short videos or ordering takeaways seemed too good to miss, and the platforms offered easy credit. ‘It is a lot easier to borrow from platforms than acquaintances,’ said Wang, a software tester living in the landlocked Hubei province, who earns a monthly income of 8,000 yuan (US$1,191). By the time he realised he could not afford his lifestyle, he had already taken out 150,000 yuan in loans, mostly to dine out and cover his then-girlfriend’s expenses.”

“China’s underdeveloped banking system has enabled the existence of a vast private lending grey market. And while the older generation may choose to borrow from family members, the digitally savvy Generation Z is used to seeking help online. ‘It was too easy to borrow [from internet platforms]’ said a debtor surnamed Xia, living in Hubei province. ‘It was like transferring money from your own account.'”

“A car salesman based in the coastal province of Jiangsu, who declined to be named, said he signed two contracts when he applied for credit through the Twitter-like blogging platform Weibo. One loan came with an 8 per cent interest rate, while the other entailed a 14 per cent service charge with Weibo acting as a guarantor. The total costs of the two loans, along with other extra charges, amounted to 22.4 per cent, in addition to the principal of 10,000 yuan.”

“On the first day that the debt became overdue, the man said collectors promptly sent him a text message at 8am, and his phone started ringing at 9am. ‘I was filled with anxiety and remorse, but I was the one who took the wrong path,’ he said. ‘There were endless threats and debt collection calls from strange numbers across China.'”

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This Post Has 95 Comments

  1. The first 5 minute video:

    Sacramento / Stockton Real Estate Report for 7/21/2022
    Jul 21, 2022 The Sacramento / Stockton area real estate market experienced a $19,000 drop in the median sales price last week. Over the past 10 week we have seen prices drop $50,000. The inventory continues to climb while pending sales drop. Both the number of price reductions and the number of sellers cancelling their listing have gone up.

    Kevin Goehring is an active real estate broker and loan officer in the greater Sacramento and Stockton area with nearly 20 years of experience in real estate.

    From my early years in real estate, I noticed certain patterns and trends taking place that would contradict current news reports and national statistics. I found it frustrating to hear well know national sources claim the real estate market was doing great while I could see trouble brewing. Because I take my client’s financial future seriously, I wanted to give accurate and timely information about where the market was headed. In 2013 I started keeping my own statistics.

    The second 14 minute video:

    Tough Times Ahead For Home Prices In Vaughan, Richmond Hill & Markham
    Team Sessa Real Estate
    Jul 21, 2022
    Vaughan Home Prices, Richmond Hill Home Prices & Markham Home Prices for the week of July 7 – July 13, 2022. This video will focus specifically on Vaughan Richmond Hill & Markham.

  2. ‘If nothing happens at 680,000, I might have to pull it off the market’

    That’s the spirit Asif, don’t give it away!

  3. Did Hansel and Gretel live in a Gingerbread ‘autark’ house or were they dependent on Russia for hot showers?

    2. I couldn’t resist –
      again –
      As not only hanse and Gretl live the American Dream:

      ‘This off-grid California guesthouse is 100% self-sustaininghttps://inhabitat.com › Design › Homes
      16 Aug 2018 — The contemporary home is nestled into a steep hillside in a wildlife preserve and perfectly perched to offer breathtaking, nearly 360-degree …
      AND
      Net-zero Sawmill House is 100% self-sufficient in the deserthttps://inhabitat.com › Design › Architecture
      28 Jun 2018 — The living space with a central hearth marks the heart of the off-grid home and features a stunning 12-by-26-foot window wall that completely …

      1. ….and rotting to dust at twice the rate.

        Sounds like you got ripped off by a realtor.

      2. So when does Germany start tearing down its millions of flats and replaces them with Autark houses?

          1. Now we actually probably need to pull back a little bit.

            Agreed. it’s just too fun. But I will stop.

        2. ‘So when does Germany start tearing down its millions of flats and replaces them with Autark houses?’

          Doesn’t have to as there is the ‘German Buildings Energy Act GEG, standards and lawshttps://www.dena.de › consulting-and-planning › germ…
          The German Buildings Energy Act (Gebäudeenergiegesetz, GEG) introduces mandatory standards for energy-efficient building and refurbishment’.

        1. He’s trolling us. Other than a few, impractical and pricey concept structures there are no “Autark” houses in Germany. The bulk of the population live in flats, which need sourced energy to keep the lights on and heated in the winter.

          Germany was approaching a full blown panic when the NordStream 1 shut down for maintenance. That said, the Russians are more than happy to take their money and restarted the pipeline. But the message was delivered: Germany has no other source of NatGas and is at Russia’s mercy.

          2. Come and visit –
            Energieautarken Häusern gehört die Zukunft – Capital.dehttps://www.capital.de › immobilien · Translate this page
            energieautarke häuser from http://www.capital.de
            27 Mar 2021 — … Anlagevermögen: Warum wir mit konventionellem Bauen und fossilen Brennstoffen auf Grund laufen. Timo Leukefeld über energieautarke Häuser.

          3. ‘But the message was delivered’

            Yes!
            That Germany should NOT depend on any War Criminals and Foreign Corporations anymore.

  5. “Raymond Martin noted that shortly before listing his Austin home, a neighbor sold their similar-sized home for $100,000 over the $1 million asking price.”

    Not buying it. No it wasn’t sold for 100K above asking…stop listening to realwh0res.

      1. “Easily verifiable.”

        Which means nothing because the exchange that took place behind the public record is concealed and can’t be verified…. unless.

      2. There are lots of shenanigans involved. The “official” price always doesn’t tell you the full picture.

    2. The jab will keep you from getting sick
      The jab will keep you from spreading the disease
      The jab will keep you from getting very sick
      The jab will keep you out of the hospital
      The jab will keep you from dying
      The jab can harm you

  11. New Zealand’s globalist Quisling regime emulated the example of the CCP ideological mentors when it came to draconian pandemic lockdowns. Now they’re paying the price for such control-freak stupidity.

    New Zealand Covid deaths soar to RECORD high as Omicron wreaks havoc: Scientists claim nation is vulnerable because it spent too long under ‘hermit’ China-style eradication strategy

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11038495/New-Zealand-COVID-19-death-rate-record-levels.html

    Covid death rates have reached pandemic highs in New Zealand as the country battles another havoc-inducing Omicron wave.

    Weekly virus fatalities hit 151 in the seven days ending July 16, compared to 115 in the worst week of the previous flare-up in March, according to Health Ministry data. It means the country’s current mortality rate is twice as high as the UK’s and four times higher than the US.

  12. Kiwis elected a globalist Quisling regime. Now they’re getting what they voted for, good & hard.

    Ardern and New Zealand housing market face shared doom

    https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2022/07/ardern-and-new-zealand-housing-market-face-shared-doom/

    The Post’s Tom Chodor has delved into why support for New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has collapsed domestically at the same time as the world holds her in high esteem.

    According to recent opinion polls, “over 50% of voters now believe the country is heading in the wrong direction”, with the opposition centre-Right National and ACT parties now cruising toward a comfortable victory at next year’s election.

    Chodor believes that “stumbles on issues like availability of rapid antigen testing, workforce shortages, or the response to anti-mandate protests” started the rot, which has been exacerbated by the “cost of living crisis brought about by the highest inflation in three decades, stagnating wages and economic growth, unaffordable housing, a health system running on fumes, and a rise in violent crime”.

    1. So they finally understand that she’s a WEF stooge and her mission is to enslave them?

    2. “Jacinda Ardern has collapsed domestically ”

      Have you looked at the recent ‘covid cases’ in that miserable country? They practically closed the country for 2 years….for what? May be people are asking those questions….

      1. Yup, even though virtually everyone is jabbed, the rona is burring through Kiwiland.

        I still remember the guy who was arrested for “running” some KFC in his car to a forbidden area.

        It won’t matter if they send her packing, they’ll just elect another WEF stooge.

      2. New Zealand “closed the country” to outsiders, but they didn’t lock down internally, at least not for the first year. I recall some Kiwis bragging that they were partying at bars and restaurants while the rest of the world was stuck inside watching Tiger King.

        I guess it’s time to pay the piper. Looked up a bit of data: NZ primarily used the Pfizer vaccine. Only the elderly are getting the severe illness and dying. It seems that, by itself with no other exposure, the immunity from Pfizer pfades, and pfast. It seems to need either a booster, or exposure, just to protect from severe Omicron. And NZ are 95% vaccinated but only 75% boosted. I’m going to guess that their rate of death is much higher simply because Omicron is contagious enough that there is no flattening the curve, as there was up until Omicron. The vulnerable and unboosted are going to get sick all at once.

        1. “The vulnerable and unboosted are going to get sick all at once.”

          My two kids, grandma, sister, her kids, etc., all vaccinated and boosted caught BA.5 over the 4th of July weekend, but my non-vaccinated brother somehow avoided infection.

          1. I am about the only person I know who has not caught the woohoo. I am unvaxxed and have been around numerous people who were infected, but I didn’t know it at the time. The unvaxxed who caught it all had mild cases.

          2. I am about the only person I know who has not caught the woohoo. I am unvaxxed

            Same is true for my S.O. and I.

            Then again, we lead active lives, spend plenty of time out in the sun, get exercise, eat relatively healthy and make sure we get enough Vit C&D.

            Meanwhile, many of my acquaintances who have been hiding under the bed in between injections have had it at least once, if not twice.

  13. Aussie cucks elected a globalist Quisling regime. Now the sheeple whinge that they’re living in a police state. This is what you voted for, idiots. Papers, please!

    Police launch sniffer dog operation as Splendour in the Grass festivalgoers arrive at Gold Coast airport

    https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/music-festivals/police-launch-sniffer-dog-operation-as-splendour-in-the-grass-festivalgoers-arrive-at-gold-coast-airport/news-story/57e284224e1f1f0bd838269aee31d136

    A photo of young festivalgoers being ordered to line up immediately after getting off a flight has attracted backlash online.

  16. A reader sent these in:

    2 years ago, the 30-yr mortgage rate was 2.90% & the median existing home price in the US was $294k. Today the 30-yr mortgage rate is 5.71% & the median existing home price is $416k. With a 20% down payment, that’s a 98% increase in the monthly payment (from $978 to $1,933).

    https://twitter.com/charliebilello/status/1549856494287568896

    July housing pulse – “sales activity has all but stopped” – Boise “Demand is noticeably slower” – Austin

    https://twitter.com/DonMiami3/status/1549865929152020480

    “Don’t be deceived .. We estimate that seasonally adjusted [home] prices fell by a hefty 1.8% month-to-month .. Excluding the initial Covid shock, you need to go back to spring 2011 to find a bigger two-month drop in prices. This is not noise.” – @PantheonMacro

    https://twitter.com/carlquintanilla/status/1549856118620446724

    Danielle DiMartino Booth

    Drive-by anecdata @Quillintel
    journeying from Austin to DFW Airport. RV lots…one after another…are FULL. What on earth are banks going to DO w/all of the repossessions once regulators force bad loans to be expunged?

    Throw in cars & boats. This is a good time to own repo lots

    https://twitter.com/DiMartinoBooth/status/1549868094025261059

  17. Why would any patriotic white male join our “woke” military and subject themselves to being systematically marginalized and maligned?

    Fewer servicemen and veterans are likely to recommend a career in uniform, as fears of going broke, hungry and ‘woke culture’ claims leave world’s top military with its worst recruitment crisis since the 1970s

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11036405/US-military-veterans-recruitment-crisis-rent-debt-inflation-Army-Afghanistan-hunger-inflation-rent.html

  18. ‘Builders continue to offer incentives, primarily towards financing, which means net base prices are falling’

    If you just bought a new shack at an auction, you can get a refund, right?

    ‘A price correction appears imminent, but we are hesitant to suggest that a crash is coming. If home prices fell 10% between now and the end of the year, prices would be in line with where they were at heading into 2022’

    Right-oh! Steve. And yer point is?

    2. Right-oh! Steve. And yer point is?

      They are all hoping for a soft landing. Pro Brandon pundits have given in and are admitting that a recession is inevitable, but that it will be “mild”, which really means: batten down the hatches, it’s gonna be a humdinger, the Great Recession 2.0

  20. The Housing Market is Shifting From a Seller’s Market to a Buyer’s Market
    Jul 21, 2022 We have been seeing some crazy sensationalized headlines lately. Strap in, because it’ll only get worse. The house market is doing what it always has and always will: shift.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc1CbG7bhG0

    10 minutes. Oro Valley AZ.

  21. Santa Clara County Real Estate Market | JULY 2022
    Jul 21, 2022 With all the paranoia from the economy, I’d like to look at the data and see where our housing market is at currently.

    Timecodes
    0:00 – Intro
    0:40 – Video Overview
    0:58 – June’s Monthly Numbers
    5:40 – Where July is Trending
    7:25 – What Does This All Mean

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zK6no1nkBQ

    9 minutes. Shacks off 100k since March.

    1. Rates for a 30 yr fixed mortgage are around 5.5%… If you have an 800 credit score and put 20% down; everyone else gets 7% plus PMI.

  26. “When you’re a fruit picker loaned 50 times your salary to buy a US$750,000 (RM3.3mil) house with no money down, it’s little trouble to walk away if the market turns south.”

    This brings back memories of the husband and wife strawberry pickers from California who “bought” an $800,000 house back in 2005 or 2006. I wonder how they’re doing??

    1. I’m guessing that they are referring to the exact same couple of strawberry pickers. Looks like that little story traveled the world a few times. Walk in with nothing, get a really big house. No wonder everyone wants to come here.

      1. They come for the free cheese. A relative is a bilingual teacher. All her students are anchor babies, and their families, even though mom and dad are illegals, get all kinds of goodies: Section 8, SNAP, Medicaid, etc.

        Mom and Dad usually work under the table (to not jeopardize the free cheese). This is why you see them driving nice vehicles, the job pays for that. Just swing by any church during their Spanish language service (Catholic or Protestant) and you will see a parking lot full of shiny cars, trucks and SUVs.

        That’s why there is an endless stream of caravans heading to the border.

      2. It was two couples. The loan guys had used two field worker couples incomes together to qualify, the idea being they lived in the same shack.

  28. The National Deplorable Association is asking for your signature on the…

    Make Joe Biden ride a Harley this weekend

    Petition

    The National Deplorable Association Making America Great Again one Woke Lefty at a time.

    1. Make Joe Biden ride a Harley this weekend

      Will it have training wheels and be limited to 15 mph?

  29. Rick Palacios Jr.

    Chart below helps explain why home builders are dialing it back quickly. Unsold new home months of supply are now at a record high for under construction (orange line), and homes not started (green line). Expecting unsold completed homes (purple line) to start rising fast.

    https://twitter.com/RickPalaciosJr/status/1550519040111566848

    Ben Rabidoux

    341,000 dwellings under construction across Canada in Q2 including the highest number of single-family homes since the 1980s.

    https://twitter.com/BenRabidoux/status/1550506998969532418

    1. The vital stats on the study:
      ————–
      the study centered on an experiment in which 2,073 low-income people were randomly selected to receive a single, unconditional cash transfer of either $500 or $2,000. Another 3,170 low-income study subjects received no money from the study.

      The experiment was conducted from July 2020 to May 2021. On average, the subjects were earning roughly $950 a month while receiving another $530 in food stamps and other government benefits. A little over half were unemployed and 80% had children.
      —————-

      Ding ding ding. Large-sample randomized trial. I am convinced that those liberal-run studies cherry-picked subjects who were already responsible and possibly even a little better off. Of course, those subjects did exactly what they were expected to do: paid off bills. And those studies were also on very small samples: usually 200 or less.

      But once you start randomizing the sample, increasing the sample, and choosing a sample more representative of those who would actually receive the money, it falls apart. You can find 200 responsible people. But it’s harder to find 2000+ responsible people who live on welfare; most of them will pee away the money. Now, of course, this study will be buried.

    2. The “experts” didn’t expect it to turn out this way. An experiment conducted by Harvard University and University of Exeter social scientists found no-strings-attached handouts harmed low-income recipients rather than help them.

      Knock me over with a feather!

  33. “Most liberal academics and politicians believe government handouts are the solution to all problems. If transfer payments were a ticket to the middle class, the War on Poverty would have succeeded long ago.”

    It is easier to remove the monkey from the porch than it is to remove the porch from the monkey.

    1. My comment should have nested with Mr. Banker’s suggestion: “This article is well worth a read …”

  34. The globalists and their Quislings are going to keep expanding the definition of “extremist” to encompass any white male disgusted with “wokeness” and the fatal weakening of our military by Democrat-Bolshevik political Commissars.

    Pentagon Urged to End Witch Hunt for ‘Extremists’ in the Ranks

    https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2022/07/22/pentagon-urged-to-end-witch-hunt-for-extremists-in-the-ranks-n1615111

    The Senate Armed Services Committee issued a report urging the Pentagon to halt its fruitless hunt for “extremists” in the ranks. The report, accompanying the Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act, states that “spending additional time and resources to combat exceptionally rare instances of extremism in the military is an inappropriate use of taxpayer funds, and should be discontinued by the Department of Defense immediately.”

    The witch hunt was ordered by the Pentagon in April 2021. The” Countering Extremist Activity Working Group” (CEAWG) eventually discovered fewer than 100 instances of confirmed extremist activity in 2021, the Pentagon reported in December.

    “With roughly 2.1 million active and reserve personnel in the U.S. military, 100 cases is roughly .005% of the force,” according to Fox News.

  35. This might not end well for the Soros scum.

    Antifa begin feud with Oregon biker gangs

    https://thepostmillennial.com/antifa-begin-feud-with-oregon-biker-gangs

    Antifa members gathered for a direct action to shut down the Honky Tonk bar in Salem, Oregon, on Saturday afternoon, The Post Millennial’s editor-at-large Angy Ngo reported.

    An Antifa direct action broke out in Oregon on Saturday, where members of the far-left violent extremist movement suffered a humiliating defeat after the group was confronted by a group of women and bikers protecting a Salem bar hosting a family barbecue event.

    The confrontation appears to have now ignited a feud between Antifa and members of various Oregon motorcycle clubs.

  36. US records first two CHILD monkeypox cases: California toddler and an infant in D.C. were likely infected by ‘household contacts’ and both had contact with gay or bisexual men, CDC chief says

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11040679/Two-children-test-positive-monkeypox-CDC-confirms.html

    Two children have tested positive for monkeypox in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed Friday.

    One is a toddler from California; the other is in an infant who is not a U.S. resident and was ‘transiting through’ Washington D.C. Neither had contact with each other.

    Health officials said both children were ‘doing well’, but warned children under the age of eight are at high risk of severe monkeypox.

  38. ‘Clearly, the market’s kind of stalled,’

    Clearly, he got stucco. Boy, did he get stucco.

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