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The Golden Days Officially Came To An End

A weekend topic starting with Strong Towns. “Between 2000 and 2005, the median home price in Southern California grew by 117% from $241,350 to $524,020, an increase of more than $280,000, or $56,000 per year. In 2005, the median household income in Southern California was $53,600. In other words, the median homeowner made more from home appreciation than the median family earned in income. And, with the ability to do a cash-out refinance or simply take out a home equity loan, much of that appreciation could be accessed to increase family spending, even to pay the mortgage. American homeowners had come full circle, from humble beginnings pursuing housing as basic shelter to participants—some reluctant, some eager—in the bubble mania of housing as speculative financial instrument.”

“This commodification of the housing market was a primary factor in the 2008 recession, and a reflection of how ordinary citizens get squeezed when the housing industry and policy makers focus on factors other than providing shelter for a broad swath of the population that needs it. California has experienced a vast exodus of hundreds of thousands of blue-collar workers who cannot bear the state’s cost of living. The intense upward pressure on cost of living was felt earliest in America’s most expensive cities: coastal hubs of high-tech and other white-collar employment such as San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Boston, and Washington, DC.”

KRQE in New Mexico. “The Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors released its December report, finding that as housing prices went up, the median income stayed the same, making it far harder for people to qualify to purchase a home. According to the GAAR report, the affordability measure, which is based on median incomes and median sales prices, was lower than what it was during the 2007-2008 housing crisis. The median home price in 2023 was $345,000. Just two years earlier, it was $290,000.”

KOTA in South Dakota. “The Rapid City housing market doesn’t have a large inventory. Over the last four years, housing prices have increased more than $100,000, making it more difficult for first time home buyers.”

The Associated Press. “Higher energy and housing prices boosted overall U.S. inflation in December. Much of the public remains exasperated by higher prices. Prices are still 17% higher than they were before the inflation surge began and are still rising. ‘Our grocery bill has doubled,’ said Megan Cherry, a psychologist who lives with her husband and children in Temple Terrace, Florida. ‘We’ve got to change how much we get of each thing. Our kids noticed recently that, ‘Wow, we eat a lot of chicken.’ Well, because we can afford chicken.'”

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It’s impossible to overstate how badly Pennsylvania’s system of real estate taxation works, and in particular how dire the situation is in Allegheny County. A coming wave of rulings on Downtown assessment appeals will not only obliterate the budgetary projections of the three taxing bodies — the county, the City of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Public Schools — but will also drain their current reserves. That’s because the appeals are retroactive, and will trigger massive refunds to commercial property owners. This doomsday scenario is due in part to misfortune: The COVID pandemic sucked the life out of Downtown, and there’s no sign of recovery to pre-pandemic occupancy levels.”

KPBS in California. “High housing costs, including rents, are partly to blame for San Diego’s high inflation, University of San Diego economics professor Alan Gin said. ‘That’s helped drive up the cost of living,’ he said. ‘On top of that, we also have among the highest electricity rates in the country, and they’re rising rapidly.’ Even for people who could afford to buy, it might still be cheaper to rent. According to the latest study by Construction Coverage, an industry trade news site, it costs 113.6 % more to buy than to rent in San Diego.”

“Realtor Voltaire Lepe said said the median price of a home in San Diego was $840,000, making the monthly mortgage payment, with 7% interest, about $6,200. ‘You have that option to buy, $6,200 payment, or you could rent that same home for about $4,500,’ he said. ‘So the difference is $1,700 that a renter would be saving on a monthly basis.'”

Business Insider. “When LinkedIn told engineering managers to pick out the lowest-performing workers to place on performance-improvement plans early last year, it felt to many like the end of an era at a company. ‘There seemed to be a shift towards what some people felt was an antagonistic approach towards the workforce, where they rescinded certain benefits and perks with our communities,’ said one engineering manager who was asked to rank his team members. The manager would go on to lose his own job, as did 136 other engineering managers axed by LinkedIn in October as part of sweeping 700-person job cuts — the first to directly affect engineering teams. The company had earlier laid off 716 sales, operations, and support workers in May.”

“Like other tech firms, LinkedIn and its employees benefited from a decade of ZIRP, the zero-interest rate environment that led to lofty tech valuations, which gave rise to big salaries and splashy perks. The effects were compounded by COVID-19, as millions of people spent the majority of their time online during lockdowns. Then the ZIRP era ended. Inflation took hold. Interest rates shot up. Nearly half a million employees are estimated to have lost their jobs at tech companies over the last two years. Satya Nadella, CEO of LinkedIn’s parent company Microsoft, said in a January 2023 memo that companies were cutting back on digital spend.”

“The pain of this shift was felt across Big Tech companies, but it was particularly shocking at LinkedIn, which was known for what some called a ‘rest and vest’ culture. ‘For years, there was a semi-joke that some people in Big Tech go to LinkedIn to retire,’ a current engineer told BI. ‘It was very rare to get fired or let go at LinkedIn in the past.’ Now, according to another current worker: ‘We still have a monopoly in the space, but to achieve the same level of growth we’ve had in the past, more work has to be put in. It’s not an easy win anymore. I think those stressors have trickled down to the employees.’ The ‘golden days’ officially came to an end in early 2023, some workers said, and culminated in layoffs by year-end.”

“And LinkedIn isn’t alone in pushing for growth and efficiency. After three years of pandemic growth, most of the major US tech firms laid off staff and were rewarded by investors for focusing on efficiency over expansion. ‘The broadly defined tech industry mistakenly assumed that the growth they saw in 2021 could persist, but it was always unlikely to occur,’ Madison and Hall analyst Brian Wieser told BI. ‘Once reality set in — amplified by the realization of higher interest rates and overstated concerns about an economic downturn, which of course never happened — they started reducing spending on many activities.’ ‘ We’d become bloated and a lot of people were spinning their wheels for a time,’ the current employee said. ‘We needed a reprioritization.'”

KQED in California. “After viral TikTok influencer Keith Lee suddenly cut his visit to the Bay Area short on Thursday, just twelve days into 2024, I can’t help but wonder: Are the Bay Area’s struggles actually worse than we’ve been telling ourselves? He’s generally seen as conscientious, with no history of mindlessly tarnishing small businesses, let alone diminishing an entire region. But the Bay Area unsettled him. This is the first time Lee has ended a trip on short notice, explaining, in a farewell video, that he ‘[doesn’t] believe the Bay is a place for tourists right now… the people of the Bay are just focused on surviving.'”

“Perhaps there’s something to be said for why, despite the Bay Area’s sparkling reputation as a food destination, Lee seemed unable to find very much that was even half-decent to eat. But when he implied, for basically the first time in his career, that the Bay Area is too out of pocket, too distressed, too dysfunctional, too disarrayed, too unsafe, too everything except whatever trendy food-take people wanted to hear, I felt him. His seeming dissatisfaction with the Bay Area wasn’t even mostly about the food. It was about our living conditions.”

“Check the housing prices. The other day, my dad genuinely asked me why I don’t consider buying a mobile home for my family because it’s ‘still affordable.’ My wife and I have a son, and we both have master’s degrees. We’ve worked tremendously hard as first-generation college graduates. And we can’t afford much more than a room or two here. Many people here don’t have the time or money to chase after the most trending meal. They don’t even have regular access to meals. Period. How many more people living in tents do we have to pass by before we reach a collective tipping point?”

The Wall Street Journal. “The Federal Reserve ran an operating loss of $114.3 billion last year, its largest ever, a consequence of its campaign to aggressively support the economy in 2020 and 2021, then jacking up interest rates to combat high inflation. The losses added to already large federal deficits that have required bigger auctions of Treasury debt. The central bank’s losses could continue for as long as short-term interest rates remain near current levels. The U.S. central bank announced preliminary, unaudited results of its 2023 financial statements on Friday. During the first nine months of 2022, the Fed transferred $76 billion in earnings to the Treasury. In September of that year, it began running a loss, and it ended the year recording a $16.6 billion deferred asset. Until 2022, the Fed had never in its 109-year history suspended remittances to the Treasury for a meaningful period due to operating losses.”

“Fed losses are a side effect of its efforts to support the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic by purchasing large amounts of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities. The market value of those securities dropped after the central bank began raising rates aggressively in 2022 to combat inflation, but the Fed doesn’t book losses on them because they are held to maturity. Instead, the Fed is running losses because it is paying more in interest than it earns on those securities. Those holdings consist primarily of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities that it accumulated during bond-buying stimulus programs between 2009 and 2014 and again between 2020 and 2022. The central bank maintained a relatively small portfolio until the 2007-09 financial crisis, after which its holdings of Treasurys and mortgage bonds swelled and it revamped how it manages interest rates.”

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This Post Has 110 Comments

  1. ‘In September of that year, it began running a loss, and it ended the year recording a $16.6 billion deferred asset. Until 2022, the Fed had never in its 109-year history suspended remittances to the Treasury for a meaningful period due to operating losses’

    You can print money Jerry, and yer still a loser.

    1. Related article.

      Wall Street Journal (via Archive) — Fed Posts Largest-Ever Annual Operating Loss (1/12/2024):

      “The Federal Reserve ran an operating loss of $114.3 billion last year, its largest ever, a consequence of its campaign to aggressively support the economy in 2020 and 2021, then jacking up interest rates to combat high inflation.

      The losses added to already large federal deficits that have required bigger auctions of Treasury debt. The central bank’s losses could continue for as long as short-term interest rates remain near current levels. That has the potential to fuel new political attacks on the Fed, though there have been no signs of that so far.”

        1. WHAT IS THE FED?

          The Federal Reserve, “the Fed”, is the central bank of the United States of America that was created in 1913 by Congress. It is a banking cartel that has a government-granted monopoly on the creation of money and credit. The Fed literally loans “money” (Federal Reserve Notes) into existence. Federal Reserve Notes are paper promises backed by nothing of intrinsic value and they are only functioning as money because the government forces them on the public through legal tender laws. Federal Reserve Notes are referred to as dollars but are not. The definition of a dollar is a weight of silver (371 grains). To put it simply, the Fed is a group of banks running a national criminal counterfeiting racket with the protection of the government.

          http://endthefed.org

      2. If I have this correct; before the banks turn their lights off for the night, they electronically transfer their loose pocket change to the Fed where it earns interest while everyone sleeps. This subsidy has been increased and the Fed calls it a “loss”.

    2. My financial advisor recommended reading Trillion Dollar Triage: How Jay Powell and the Fed Battled a President and a Pandemic—and Prevented Economic Disaster. It’s written by Nick Timiraos, the Fed whisperer.

  2. From the Business Insider link:

    ‘The reasoning behind some company decisions on AI is not always clear to the rank and file, the engineer added, with workers joking that decisions are “based on vibes.”

    “The culture shifted without question in the last year or so,” an engineer said. “We’re not at Amazon, Google, or an AI startup trying to solve the most hard-hitting, high-velocity technical challenges in the world — it’s LinkedIn. That was always fine because we had one of the least evil technical products, we connect people.”

    Speaking for myself, I despise what the silicon sh$thole has done to people. Yer all fooking evil and I hope the earth opens up and swallows it whole. I’d bet most people feel pretty much the same about the entire sh$thole of a state. Constant whining, purposefully making life worse for yerself and anyone connected to you. And it’s absurdly overpriced.

    1. the least evil

      You’re co-founder and executive chairman was Reid Hoffman. Think again. Hoffman’s funding anti-Trump lawsuits.

    1. Washington Post (via Archive) — The economy is improving under Biden. But many voters aren’t giving him credit (1/14/2024):

      “Despite the statistics, the kitchen-table experience of Biden’s first term has meant that many voters have experienced the last few years as a time of relative economic hardship.

      By many measures, the U.S. economy is a great success story — recession fears have fallen, along with gas prices and the unemployment rate, while manufacturing construction is up along with nominal wages and the stock market. The United States has grown faster since covid-19 than any peer country. Gas prices, once averaging over $5 a gallon, are now approaching $3.

      But the kitchen-table experience of Biden’s first term — a roller coaster of covid adjustment and international shocks — has meant that many voters have experienced the last few years as a time of relative economic hardship. Despite rising wages, voters as a group lost spending power during 2021 and 2022 and have only recently climbed out of the hole. And even though wages are now outpacing inflation, prices are still continuing to rise: The latest government report showed inflation up 3.4 percent relative to the year before, fueling the anxiety even amid positive economic indicators.”

      https://archive.ph/BLo0x

      The article continues, reluctantly reporting on the deprivation and human misery of average working Americans created intentionally over the past three years.

      Giving credit? Washington Post, you are the globalist scum media.

      1. has meant that many voters have experienced the last few years as a time of relative economic hardship

        Relative hardship? So have they given up trying to gaslight us by telling us that it’s all in our minds?

        And just what exactly is a “relative” hardship? Is that their way of saying that while it’s bad, it could be a lot worse?

        1. “what exactly is a “relative” hardship?”

          Paul Krugman paying $20,000 a month for his summer rental in the Hamptons vs. the $18,000 a month he paid last year.

      3. Why even bother posting wapo articles? I dont want to read it even when you give it away for free. Wapo, nyt, nbc it’s all fake news, not worthy of my time to even read it. Legacy media is dead to me. Dead.

        1. Yes, you should get all your information from internet memes and SM channels run by unknown parties or people who may be using fake identities.

    2. The Federalist — Media Downplay Yet Another Inflation Hike To Cover Democrats’ Economic Incompetence (1/11/2024):

      “The hike in prices is bound to exacerbate voters’ pessimistic views of the economy and the future of the nation. The record-high inflation Americans have experienced under President Joe Biden will likely also affect the 2024 election, since concern about the economy reigns supreme among voters’ priorities.

      The White House is not blind to the money worry gripping the nation. That’s why it is scrambling to spin a third year of price spikes in its favor. Biden insisted the most recent CPI report suggests inflation is “down by nearly two-thirds from its peak” and “at its lowest level since May 2021.” Both are deceptive, wordsmithed claims that ignore just how far prices have climbed since 2020 — approximately 20 percent.”

      20 percent? Go look at some grocery receipts from the year 2019.

      “National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard repeated the “two-thirds” talking point from the White House press podium on Thursday. Shortly after she promised “encouraging news today on inflation,” Brainard told the press “prices have come down for some key household items.”

      Brainard’s optimism about the country’s grocery shopping habits does not match Americans’ views. A new Axios-Harris poll found that a majority of U.S. voters are “‘triggered’ by trips to the grocery store.” Approximately two-thirds “think food will keep getting more expensive” no matter what the administration says.

      Despite voters’ uneasiness about increased inflation, corporate media also framed their coverage of the latest economic news as positive. Axios, a repeat offender at telling voters the economy is great and their perceptions are wrong, wondered in its debut “Axios Vibes” survey analysis why Americans are still concerned about inflation even though it “has dipped in recent months.”

      “It’s not what voters see — the economy’s improving with rising wages and low unemployment. It’s how they feel that could tank President Biden in November,” Axios continued.

      The Associated Press took things one step further when it asserted in a news alert on Thursday that even though “U.S. inflation edged up in December, fueled by food and housing prices,” the financial burden on Americans “rose only mildly.”

      When outlets question why Americans are “unusually down on a solid economy,” they prove their culpability in a giant scheme to cover up Biden’s terrible economic track record.

      To the media, there is no world in which Americans can reasonably feel bad about the “strong US economy” because corporate media take the “strong US economy” talking points the White House feeds them as truth. When polls, data, and their own grocery bills say something different, they willfully turn a blind eye and lie to save face.”

      https://thefederalist.com/2024/01/11/media-downplay-yet-another-inflation-hike-to-cover-democrats-economic-incompetence/

      ^This last paragraph, you are the globalist scum media, you are VERMIN.

  5. SD METRO Associate Editor Douglas Page spoke with state Sen. Brian Jones, (R-San Diego), the minority leader, recently to discuss issues facing California and San Diego.

    Jones: Every Republican bill that’s signed by the governor is a bipartisan bill. Because we have to get Democrats to vote for our bills. My Republican colleagues in the Senate are working in a bipartisan manner in a way that we’re developing policies in a cooperation with our Democratic colleagues to get these bills passed and signed.

    I’ll give you a couple of examples. SB14, which dealt with human trafficking. Up until this year, human trafficking of a minor for the sex trade was not a felony.

    https://www.sandiegometro.com/2024/01/california-remains-great-sacramento-is-the-problem/

    Jeebus, sex slave trade of minors wasn’t a felony? How liberal!

    1. #Naming

      His name is California State Senator Scott Wiener (no pun intended), and this man has never seen a child he didn’t want to see trafficked, defiled, or mutilated.

      Scott Wiener, consider yourself #Noticed and #Named.

  6. Not housing, but yes, federal income taxes (U.S. taxpayers you are paying for all of this).

    Wikipedia has deleted the bio page for Gonzalo Lira, the American-Chilean journalist who was tortured and murdered by the Ukraine dictator Zelensky for daring to expose his corruption (U.S. taxpayers you are paying for all of this), and you shall be reminded, is not a Christian, and not even ethnically Ukrainian.

    And on the subject of foreign policy, Hamas (i.e. Democrat Party) tried to tear down the fence around the White House yesterday. No January 6th gulag for them, because reasons.

      1. Down for “maintenance” perhaps, but down long enough that someone on 4chan made a thread about it, including screenshots.

    2. Gonzalo appeared quite frequently on The Duran, when I followed it to understand the Ukraine war. I also followed him on Telegram until he was arrested. May he rest in peace.

  7. Economy. Posting this article because WFH Derangement Syndrome amuses me.

    Wall Street Journal (via Archive) — Remote Workers Are Losing Out on Promotions (1/11/2024):

    “New data, though, shows fully remote workers are falling behind in one of the most-prized and important aspects of a career: getting promoted.

    Over the past year, remote workers were promoted 31% less frequently than people who worked in an office, either full-time or on a hybrid basis, according to an analysis of two million white-collar workers by employment-data provider Live Data Technologies.

    Nearly 90% of chief executives who were surveyed said that when it comes to favorable assignments, raises or promotions, they are more likely to reward employees who make an effort to come to the office.”

    https://archive.is/pRoR2

    1. I don’t know what percentage of the WFH are code monkeys, but code monkeys don’t have lots of opportunities for promotion to begin with. In many firms you are simply a “member of technical staff”. In other firms there are a few steps on the career stepladder: intermediate, senior, principal. Most titled code monkeys are “senior” and stay there their entire career, until they retire or are laid off and are now too old to be considered for hiring.

    2. most-prized and important aspects of a career: getting promoted

      Most workers don’t care about promotions, the extra pay is seldom worth the extra responsibility and hassle. And promotions are extremely rare in any case. Almost every time I’ve gotten a raise or a more interesting or challenging job, it’s come from changing companies, not from an internal promotion.

      2. This x1000.

        Most people have figured out the whole game is for suckers. There’s no additional pay, there’s only more work, more commutes, more time away from what’s important and in the end it matters not at all.

        NO matter what you do, you can’t get ahead. Why bother?

        work to spec.

          1. I learned early on that only two things mattered in a job: liking what you do and liking who you work with. If you had both, the job was great. If you had one, the job was tolerable. If you had neither, it was time to look for another job.

      3. This is especially true in insurance. Near zero internal promotions, just a resume of job hopping for higher pay until one gets to a point where one is satisfied with the pay and job until you’re eventually laid off. I personally am self employed and the volatility of monthly income can give most people ulcers but careful budgeting and an eye on the long game makes it worth it. I may not earn as much as some senior employee at some company but I deal with 90% less BS.

        1. I have to wonder what are all these “promotions” they talk about. I have been promoted once in my career, from “senior” to “principal”. The senior title is usually automatically achieved after a few years, more often than not after an employer/job change. I did plenty of hopping in the earlier days of my career. Sometimes I was “senior”, sometimes there was not title at all, just “code monkey”

  8. Federal income taxes.

    The Federalist — White Men Don’t Want To Join An Army That Tells Them They Aren’t Wanted (1/12/2024):

    “The U.S. Army is experiencing a sharp decline in the number of white recruits it’s bringing into the service, a new report found.

    According to data analyzed by Military.com, “A total of 44,042 new Army recruits were categorized by the service as white in 2018, but that number has fallen consistently each year to a low of 25,070 in 2023, with a 6% dip from 2022 to 2023 being the most significant drop.” The report further noted how “[n]o other demographic group” has experienced such a downward trend in recent years, and that the “rate at which white recruitment has fallen far outpaces nationwide demographic shifts.”

    Much like the Navy and Air Force, the Army missed its recruiting targets for the 2023 fiscal year, with the branch coming up 10,000 recruits short of its goal of 65,000.”

    https://thefederalist.com/2024/01/12/white-men-dont-want-to-join-an-army-that-tells-them-they-arent-wanted/

    Why would any self respecting white male enlist under an unelected Commander in Chief whose policy goals are your replacement, and ultimately, extermination?

    1. Related article, authored by Ron Paul (remember him?)

      Antiwar — In 2024 Congress Should Commit to Cutting the War Budget (1/3/2024):

      “In the closing days of 2023, the Biden Administration once again announced a large military aid package for Ukraine, this time a “mere” quarter of a billion dollars. Without a new authorization of funds from Congress, it is said to be the last bit of money left over from the more than $100 billion already authorized by Congress for the proxy war with Russia through Ukraine.

      Poll after poll show that Americans are increasingly opposed to more of their money being spent on the neocon’s lost-cause war to overthrow Putin in Russia.

      For example, a recent Fox News poll revealed that more than 60 percent of Republican voters do not want any more money sent to Ukraine. As we enter an election year, it’s probably safe to predict that Republican candidates will be wary of crossing the wishes of the clear majority of voters.

      But still the Administration, much of Congress, and an insatiable military-industrial complex keep selling the lies.

      Last month Secretary of State Antony Blinken inadvertently revealed what exactly all the spending for war is about when he stated that as much as 90 percent of the aid for Ukraine is actually spent in the United States. The money is used “to the benefit of American business, local communities, and strengthening the US defense industrial base,” he said in an interview. In other words, the money “for Ukraine” is actually a massive welfare program for well-connected military contractors back home.

      As we begin the year 2024, we need to home in on the real threat to the United States. It is not Russia or China or Iran. The true threat is closer to home: it is a corrupt system that bleeds the country dry to fight imaginary enemies while enriching the military-industrial complex.”

      https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2024/01/02/in-2024-congress-should-commit-to-cutting-the-war-budget/

      A massive welfare program?

      All wars are bankers’ wars. All of them.

        1. Haley strikes me as the epitome of RINO and WEF puppet. And while Ramaswami talks tough, I wonder if he would morph into a Rishi Sunak if elected.

  9. Direct link from the World Economic Forum website.

    Preparing for Disease X (session scheduled for 1/17/2024):

    “With fresh warnings from the World Health Organization that an unknown “Disease X” could result in 20 times more fatalities than the coronavirus pandemic, what novel efforts are needed to prepare healthcare systems for the multiple challenges ahead?

    This session is linked to the Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience and the Collaborative Surveillance Initiative of the World Economic Forum.”

    https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2024/sessions/preparing-for-a-disease-x/

    Hat tip to WRSA for the link. And a reminder, none of these people were ever elected to govern anything.

    The “vaccine” for Disease X has already been formulated, and the future profits from it will flow into the pockets of all the Right People.

    Disease X itself may or may not have been formulated yet (funded by U.S. taxpayers), but they can’t release it too early in the 2024 election cycle.

    The 2024 election was stolen.

    1. Related article.

      The Hill — Rand Paul says Fauci should ‘go to prison’ over COVID-19 ‘dishonesty’ (1/14/2024):

      “Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said that the former U.S. chief medical advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, should “go to prison” over his “dishonesty” in handling the COVID-19 pandemic and lying to Congress.

      “For his dishonesty, frankly, he should go to prison,” Paul said during a Sunday interview with radio host John Catsimatidis on “The Cats Roundtable” on WABC 770 AM. “If you lie to Congress, and you’re dishonest, and you won’t accept responsibility. For his mistake in judgment, he should just be pilloried. He should never be accepted.”

      He added, “History should judge him as a deficient person who made one of the worst decisions in public health history — in the entire history of the world.”

      The Kentucky Republican, who believes the virus came from a lab in China, accused Fauci of directly contributing to the deaths of “somewhere between 10 and 20 million” with his decision to “fund dangerous research – gain-of-function research, where you allow viruses to be combined.”

      https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4407600-rand-paul-says-fauci-should-go-to-prison-over-covid-19-dishonesty/

      20 million, that may sound like a lot, but the deadly experimental mRNA injections will ultimately kill hundreds of millions, if not billions.

      1. And a re-post because we will not forgive, nor will we forget.

        Gallup — American Public Opinion and Vaccination Requirements (9/3/2021):

        “One of the predictable, but important, divisions in opinions on vaccination requirements is current vaccination status. Those who report having personally been vaccinated — 69% of U.S. adults have gotten at least one dose, according to Gallup’s latest polling — are much more likely in turn to favor vaccination requirements.”

        Translation: drink the Kool-Aid, it tastes great.

        “Americans’ political identity is strongly related to their opinions about vaccine requirements, echoing similar partisan differences on such issues as vaccination hesitancy, mask requirements and the importance of COVID-19 as the nation’s top problem. Very large majorities of Democrats are in favor of each of the five vaccination requirements tested …

        The variation across these party/vaccination status groups is extreme. For example, 96% of vaccinated Democrats favor the requirement for proof of vaccination before flying on an airplane, compared with 12% of unvaccinated Republicans. Ninety-four percent of vaccinated Democrats favor the requirement for attendance at events, compared with 9% of unvaccinated Republicans.”

        https://news.gallup.com/poll/354506/update-american-public-opinion-vaccination-requirements.aspx

        Democrat Party = Medical Genocide Party

        1. Related article (hat tip to Gab for the link).

          Majority of Americans Think COVID Vaccines Are Linked to Unexplained Deaths (1/14/2024):

          “The Rasmussen survey found that 53% of Americans believe COVID-19 jabs may be to blame for unexplained deaths, a figure that has increased by 4% over the last year.

          Nearly one in four (24%) also say they know someone who has died from the vaccine.

          Only a third (33%) believe Americans who express concerns about the vaccine are spreading “conspiracy theories,” while 54% believe there are legitimate reasons to be worried about the safety of the jab.

          “Twice as many Republicans (44%) answered that it was very likely that Covid vaccines were to blame for unexplained deaths as compared to Democrats (22%). Conversely, 22% of Democrats think it’s not at all likely that Covid vaccines are causing unexplained deaths, whereas only 7% of Republicans share this view”

          https://modernity.news/2024/01/14/majority-of-americans-think-covid-vaccines-are-linked-to-unexplained-deaths/

          22% of Democrats think it’s not at all likely <— these people are on their 10th booster, have been continuously sick for the past three months, many of whom are probably going to die soon.

          At least you got a free donut and lots of likes on your Instagram vaccine selfie.

          "They're not sending their best"

    2. Disease X itself may or may not have been formulated yet

      My concern is that this time they will engineer and release a real monster, and not a dud like they did last time.

      1. They will.

        And it will be most lethal to children, because killing off a bunch of fats and olds doesn’t have the same psychological or emotional resonance as killing off lots of kidz.

        And like all narratives, it must be scripted, and curated. Some quant geek working for the World Economic Forum has calculated the exact number of dead kidz per week (to be dutifully reported by Real Journalists) that it will take for the population to accept what will become, very quickly, the erasure of every freedom you have ever known.

        Sounds morbid, but I’m right, and that’s the truth.

        1. You forgot ‘end of story.’

          The best they could come up with was a minor respiratory illness. The tyranny was the danger to free men. We won’t be fooled again.

  10. “The intense upward pressure on cost of living was felt earliest in America’s most expensive cities: coastal hubs of high-tech and other white-collar employment such as San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Boston, and Washington, DC.”

    There are quite a few more San cities that belong on that list. Pretty much anywhere Father Junipero Serra ever set foot belongs on the list.

  11. According to the GAAR report, the affordability measure, which is based on median incomes and median sales prices, was lower than what it was during the 2007-2008 housing crisis. The median home price in 2023 was $345,000. Just two years earlier, it was $290,000.”

    Thank the Keynesian fraudsters at the Fed & their deranged money printing.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK_rYS8L3kI

    1. Those under 3% mortgage rates were a major factor. Everytime I hear someone say that current mortgage rates are high, I remind them that they are around the historical average

      1. In 2003, I signed a 5.50% conforming mortgage note, and I had to buy down a few points to get there. My two student loans were in the 8.6% territory. Our family vacations were modest, and there were no new cars on our driveway.

        1. and there were no new cars on our driveway

          What I have noticed is that those who always seem to have new cars are on the lease treadmill.

          2. Some cars are better to date than marry

            I try to avoid those cars. But I get it, some people really enjoy them, so they lease them.

            I don’t drive a lot these days, so buying especially works for me as the miles add up very slowly.

          3. Sometimes life rear ends you and you have to get a new car. The used car market for the last three years has been a nightmare not too unlike the used home market. Partially driven by the 10,000,000 illegals now here driving all the cheap used cars. I was more or less forced to buy a new car last year. $50k but it’s going to last me 15 years hopefully unless some illegal with no insurance runs into me.

          4. $50k

            That must have been a nice car. I hope it lasts. I am skeptical that these new cars with tiny turbocharged engines will last as long as their normally aspirated predecessors with larger engines.

          5. I am skeptical that these new cars with tiny turbocharged engines will last as long as their normally aspirated predecessors with larger engines.

            If you buy one of these turbocharged engines you had damn well be changing that oil, probably even more frequently that “recommended.

      2. Are folks still anticipating a return to 3% 30-year mortgage rates? It’s hard to imagine how that could jive with the Fed’s inflation reduction strategy, as the pandemic provided direct evidence that 3% mortgages drove up home prices by 50% or so.

        However, it seems conceivable that the Fed may try to lock in recent home proce increases, say through an increase in Quantitative Easing targeted on mortgage backed securities.

        Never mind the massive losses the Fed is currently incurring in the interest of enriching homeowners and other species of debt donkeys.

          1. Maybe if we land in recession, which would hammer housing demand through job loss plus increased precaution, due to fear of job loss among those still employed.

            Either rates stay higher for longer or we head into recession…checkmate.

  12. “Even for people who could afford to buy, it might still be cheaper to rent. According to the latest study by Construction Coverage, an industry trade news site, it costs 113.6 % more to buy than to rent in San Diego.”

    That’s correct. Or conversely, it costs less than half the monthly mortgage payment to rent comparable property in San Diego, before even considering other ownership costs, not to mention the risk of capital loss if prices fall, contrary to expert predictions.

    1. On the other hand, it is still a ripe time to cash out accumulated equity, as the long and variable lags of the Fed’s punchbowl removal operations have yet to fully impact San Diego market values. Many people we know personally cashed out a million or so since the onset of pandemic stimulus measures. Market timing was definitely a fruitful strategy in the Quantitative Easing era.

      https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Diego/9810-Deer-Trail-Dr-92127/home/6494117

      1. I can’t help but wonder whether the millions of dollars in home equity that folks we know liberated as they either downsized their California McMansions or left the state is somehow connected to the Fed’s losses? Seems like an accounting issue, but I don’t fully grasp it…

    1. – He says he is using data science. I don’t really know what that means compared to housing economics, even though I completed Andrew Ng’s data science course on Coursera.

      – The raw median home price and median income figure would be a lot more informative if combined into a home price to income ratio, which I believe has trended up a lot in recent years. The ratio also cancels inflation betwen the top and bottom of the rati, given a more objecrive affordability metric across time.

      – He doesn’t seem to grasp how ultra low rates after 2009 blew housing prices skyward.

      1. “He doesn’t seem to grasp how ultra low rates after 2009 blew housing prices skyward.”

        My thoughts too. Thanks for looking!

  15. Well, the world’s biggest special interest group , the WEF and their collusion partners are going to meet soon for big yearly meeting.
    Topic of discussions will be.
    1.How to stop disinformation and obstruct free speech.
    2. What policies to enforce regarding Climate Change and UN 2030 Sustainable earth fraud.
    3.What to do about United States.
    4. How to sell Global Fascist Governance. (Stakeholders)
    5. How to have unelected Organization like WHO dictate Globle Health policy.
    6. On and on.
    No doubt this is opportunity for One World Order Insurrection to discuss their war on humanity.
    Basically , in a sane World, these Fraudsters and psychopaths would be viewed as a global insurrection power grab, of attack on Soverign States for a New World Dictorship.
    People who attend should be considered treasonous insurrectionists, attacking the globe.
    Biden should be impeached for pledging his allegiance to One World Order, and by executive order trying to transfer power by TREATY to the corrupt and unelected WHO.
    Klaus Schwab of course is expected to speak about unexpected global emergencies that give opportunity for WEF and co conspirators to rule the world.

    1. Big topic: What to do about the massive government debt pile in the pandemic aftermath. Hangover cure is needed…

    1. The city’s hospitality sector is faltering alongside the rise in rampant crime, debilitating homelessness, and dangerous public drug use – with fewer people wanting to visit San Fran compared to before the pandemic.

      The convention biz is gone. When my employer announced it was moving OpenWorld to Las Vegas before the pandemic, that was considered a big blow to the city. OpenWorld would rent out the stadium where the Giants play and have a concert for the attendees. I know complaints from attendees about having to share the sidewalks with the homeless and having to dodge hunan feces were frequent and led to the decision to relocate the convention.

      I doubt London Breed and her cronies are concerned. I expect that they are grifting everything they can before the music stops. Dealing with the clusterf#ck they leave behind will be “someone else’s problem”, possibly the city’s first GOP administration in decades.

      1. London Breed isn’t grifting, she’s looting. She’s stealing everything that isn’t nailed down. I bet her basement is filled with office supplies and toilet paper she steals from city hall. When she leaves, every stapler in the building will be missing.

    2. That should put a dent in new car sales.

      I took the old clunker in for a recall (it’s one of those “easy to steal cars”). They had a ton of inventory on the lot.

  18. Biden warns “extremist” MAGA movement is a threat to US democracy

    3 months ago

    https://youtu.be/7thbzCUUteI?si=DajPLcvFROsj62kF&t=85

    Wid Lyman
    @Wid_Lyman

    Complete chaos outside the White House as protestors converge

    5:22 PM · Jan 13, 2024

    https://x.com/Wid_Lyman/status/1746296763755933713?s=20

    Wid Lyman
    @Wid_Lyman
    📍The White House:

    BREAKING

    Protestors have breached the reinforced gate and riot police have confronted them – other protestors began scaling the fence

    WATCH:

    7:12 PM · Jan 13, 2024

    https://x.com/Wid_Lyman/status/1746324311332249863?s=20

  19. Taylor Swift’s Label Universal Music Group Laying Off ‘Hundreds’

    DAVID NG
    14 Jan 2024

    Universal Music Group, the corporate home of mega pop star Taylor Swift, is reportedly set to slash “hundreds” of jobs in the latest bloodbath to hit the entertainment industry.

    The music label is planning to eliminate hundreds of jobs in the first quarter of the year, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News. The company’s recorded music division will be hit hardest.

    Disney’s Pixar is also expected to eliminate up to 20 percent of its staff, or more than 300 jobs, in the months ahead.

    Last month, Spotify announced layoffs impacting 17 percent of its employees, its third layoff of 2023.

    Meanwhile, Silicon Valley and Wall Street are also being hit with massive layoffs as executives brace for more bad times ahead under Biden.

    Google is slashing hundreds of jobs while Citigroup announced Friday it will eliminate a stunning 20,000 employees — or ten percent of its workforce

    https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2024/01/14/taylor-swifts-label-universal-music-group-laying-off-hundreds/

  21. Families?

    Mexico Busts Coach Bus Packed With Nearly 200 US-Bound Migrants

    by Dan Lyman
    January 14th 2024, 11:45 am

    Federal authorities conduction checks on vehicles passing through the area encountered a dangerously overload passenger bus.

    In total, 182 foreigners hailing primarily from Ecuador and Guatemala were found inside the bus, according to the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM), the Mexican government’s migration agency.

    Even the largest coach buses generally only provide seating for up to 61 passengers, indicating the vehicle was likely traveling at around triple its capacity.

    INM
    @INAMI_mx

    #Comunicado 📄| Auxilia @INAMI_mx en #Veracruz a 182 personas migrantes originarias de Guatemala y Ecuador, que viajaban de manera hacinada en un autobús. https://goo.su/gbCxjMx

    https://x.com/INAMI_mx/status/1744851743761121549?s=20

    1. up to 61 passengers

      With another 15 in the aisle, where are the other 100 people?

      I only saw men and a boy in the pictures.

      1. I only saw men and a boy in the pictures.

        The media makes a great effort to find women and children, to show them in the news, all weepy, saying that all they want is an opportunity in America, please grant us a work permit, when in reality their plan is to join the Free Sh!t Army.

        I read an article last week about a Venezuelan woman in Fort Collins. She claimed that they were striving in Venezuela. Funny thing, how no one in those caravans looks emaciated.

  22. ‘This doomsday scenario is due in part to misfortune: The COVID pandemic sucked the life out of Downtown, and there’s no sign of recovery to pre-pandemic occupancy levels’

    The minor respiratory illness had nothing to do with this debacle.

  23. ‘The broadly defined tech industry mistakenly assumed that the growth they saw in 2021 could persist, but it was always unlikely to occur’

    Hasn’t that happened once or twice before Brian?

    1. Is a “care plus cleaning” they said the county did like when Joe Biden is coming to town and they take months or years of homeless encampments or illegals living in the streets in a border town and clean them up and out in a couple of days so they don’t ruin the optics of Biden’s visit?

  25. COUP: Democrats & Deep State Preparing to Remove President’s Control of Military if Trump Elected

    by Jamie White
    January 14th 2024, 5:16 pm

    Democrat lawmakers, advocacy groups, and former government officials are “quietly devising plans” to stop former President Donald Trump from asserting control of the military if elected president again in November, according to a report.

    NBC News’ article titled, “Fears grow that Trump will use the military in ‘dictatorial ways’ if he returns to the White House,” details how “a loose-knit network of public interest groups and lawmakers” are preparing to “foil any efforts” for Trump to use the military to carry out his political agenda if he becomes Commander-in-Chief once again.

    From NBC News:

    Those taking part in the effort told NBC News they are studying Trump’s past actions and 2024 policy positions so that they will be ready if he wins in November. That involves preparing to take legal action and send letters to Trump appointees spelling out consequences they’d face if they undermine constitutional norms.

    “We’re already starting to put together a team to think through the most damaging types of things that he [Trump] might do so that we’re ready to bring lawsuits if we have to,” said Mary McCord, executive director of the Institution for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law.

    Part of the aim is to identify like-minded organizations and create a coalition to challenge Trump from day one, those taking part in the discussions said. Some participants are combing through policy papers being craftedfor a future conservative administration. They’re also watching the interviews that Trump allies are giving to the press for clues to how a Trump sequel would look.

    Other participants include Democracy Forward, an organization that took the Trump administration to court more than 100 times during his administration, and Protect Democracy, an anti-authoritarian group.

    “We are preparing for litigation and preparing to use every tool in the toolbox that our democracy provides to provide the American people an ability to fight back,” said Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward. “We believe this is an existential moment for American democracy and it’s incumbent on everybody to do their part.”

    https://www.infowars.com/breaking-news/

    1. That involves preparing to take legal action and send letters to Trump appointees spelling out consequences they’d face if they undermine constitutional norms.

      Oh, the irony!

  26. U.S. Journalist Murdered By NWO Puppets

    27,653 views
    Jan 13, 2024

    U.S. Chilean journalist Gonzalo Lira had attempted to flee Ukraine but was detained, tortured, and left to die in a Ukranian prison. The U.S. Government fully aware of the situation. This after the United States has handed over billions in aid and military weapons to the Biden/ Zelensky money laundering operation. Just today, Joe Biden claimed that there is no crisis on the U.S. southern border as the United States collapses under the strain. While the NWO makes its move, ramping up a war between Sweden and Russia. While banning a growing constitutional party in Germany. As German farmers protest the NWO’s war on their livelihood en masse.

    https://madmaxworld.tv/watch?id=65a340e75a1c404e91cd7712

    1. Financial Times
      US Securities and Exchange Commission
      SEC’s bitcoin ETF sign-off comes with a stark reminder of its lingering doubts
      Commissioners air concerns about whether the regulator’s move came too late — and whether it should have happened at all
      SEC chair Gary Gensler has called the crypto sector a ‘wild west’
      Stefania Palma in Washington
      January 11 2024

      The Securities and Exchange Commission’s landmark approval of the first-ever spot bitcoin exchange traded funds this week came with a stark reminder of the agency’s divisions over cryptocurrencies and scepticism towards a market some still see as dangerous for investors.

      After refusing to greenlight the products for a decade, the SEC’s hand was finally forced by a US federal appeals court ruling last year. On Thursday, 10 spot bitcoin ETFs started trading with SEC approval, from sponsors ranging from established players such as Fidelity and BlackRock to more digital businesses including Grayscale and Ark Invest. One more ETF was still in the process of going live.

      It was a watershed moment for a sector that the agency’s chair Gary Gensler has called a “wild west” rife with non-compliance and misconduct, and a big win for the crypto industry after a bitter legal battle with the SEC.

      But those hoping for a sea change in the regulator’s approach to digital assets will be disappointed, analysts warn. Nor has the approval convinced traditional finance to give a full-throated endorsement, with some of the players that launched such ETFs saying it was up to individual investors to decide whether those products are right for them.

      Much room in a statement from Gensler accompanying the decision was given to explaining what the SEC’s decision was not. It did not “endorse” crypto trading platforms or intermediaries, which are mostly “non-compliant with the federal securities laws and often have conflicts of interest”, he wrote. It focused just on ETFs holding bitcoin and “in no way [signalled] the Commission’s willingness to approve listing standards for crypto asset securities”.

      And it did not “signal anything” about the SEC’s position on other crypto assets’ standing under US securities laws nor on crypto players’ non-compliance, he added.

      “While we approved the listing and trading of certain spot bitcoin [exchange traded product] shares today, we did not approve or endorse bitcoin,” concluded Gensler, who called bitcoin a “primarily . . . speculative, volatile asset that’s also used for illicit activity including ransomware, money laundering, sanction evasion, and terrorist financing”.

      “Clearly, he didn’t want to do this,” said Ian Katz, financial policy analyst at research firm Capital Alpha Partners. “He felt like he had to because the court put him in a position where he really didn’t have any other options. And even at that, he waited until the last possible moment to do it.” Wednesday was the final day of the SEC’s statutory deadline for a decision.

      Beyond Gensler, the rest of the commission, whether for or against the decision, also expressed concerns.
      …

      1. Sounds like the SEC only approved spot bitcoin ETFs because a court decision forced them. The SEC just gave spot bitcoin ETFs whatever the opposite of a ringing endorsement is called.

    2. Bitcoin.com
      News
      Jan 14, 2024
      Market Updates
      by Kevin Helms
      4 days ago
      Jamie Dimon Insists Bitcoin Doesn’t Have Value as JPMorgan Teams up With Blackrock on Spot Bitcoin ETF

      JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has insisted that bitcoin doesn’t have value, emphasizing that its use cases are sex trafficking, tax avoidance, money laundering, and terrorism financing. However, JPMorgan has teamed up with Blackrock to help the world’s largest asset manager grow its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) as a lead authorized participant.

      Jamie Dimon Insists Bitcoin Has No Value

      The CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, still believes that bitcoin has no value even as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Wednesday. In an interview with Fox Business on Wednesday, Dimon expressed:

      “I’ve always said that bitcoin doesn’t have value … The actual use cases are sex trafficking, tax avoidance, money laundering, terrorism financing.”

      The JPMorgan executive’s comment echoed his statement made during a Senate Banking Committee’s hearing in December last year. In response to a question by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dimon said: I’ve always been deeply opposed to crypto, bitcoin, etc. You pointed out the true use case for it is criminals, drug traffickers, anti-money laundering, tax avoidance.” He also said that he would close down crypto if he were the government.
      …
      https://news.bitcoin.com/jamie-dimon-insists-bitcoin-doesnt-have-value-as-jpmorgan-teams-up-with-blackrock-on-spot-bitcoin-etf/#google_vignette

      1. “However, JPMorgan has teamed up with Blackrock to help the world’s largest asset manager grow its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) as a lead authorized participant.”

        Business over pleasure…

    1. Business
      California continues to stink at attracting new residents
      Northbound lanes of the 405 Freeway in Hawthorne
      (KTLA)
      California’s 2023 inbound share of van moves ranked sixth-lowest nationally.
      By Jonathan Lansner
      Orange County Register
      Jan. 14, 2024 6 AM PT

      For the ninth consecutive year, fewer moving vans brought Americans to California than those headed out toward other states.

      The trusty spreadsheet reviewed my curious collection of annual migration data from three moving van lines — Allied, Atlas, and United — over the last 20 years. Let’s remember that this type of relocation is rare and expensive. Yet swings in usage can be seen as one measure of where folks with good-sized checkbooks or generous employers are moving.

      When the interstate moves reported by the three van lines are averaged together, the California picture isn’t pretty: The state continues to stink at attracting new residents.

      Last year, just 43.8% of California van moves were inbound. That’s the third-worst year of the last 20. It’s also down from 44.3% in 2022 and an average of 48.7% in pre-pandemic 2004-2019.

      Yes, it’s still above the 40.5% bottom of mid-pandemic 2021. But it ain’t the 52.5% high of 2012 either. Do not forget that every year between 2008 and 2014, California had more ins than outs via van lines.

      Backstory

      The 2023 van line patterns suggest the recent meek improvement in California’s broader outmigration challenges could be over.

      California demographers say the state had 260,400 more people exiting than arriving from elsewhere in the U.S. in the year ending in July 2023. That was down from 295,600 the previous year and 361,270 in 2021.

      A peek at more-detailed Census Bureau stats gives a big clue as to what’s behind California outmigration.

      California’s 2022 population departures equaled 2.1% of state residents — the ninth-best retention nationally.

      But new arrivals from other states were only 1.2% of the population – the lowest attraction rate among the states.

      Nationally speaking

      California’s 2023 inbound share of van moves ranked sixth-lowest among the 48 contiguous states — excluding Alaska and Hawaii — and the District of Columbia.

      Who was worse? Illinois at 37.2%, New Jersey at 41.7%, Pennsylvania at 42%, Louisiana at 42.1% and Michigan at 43.5%.

      Conversely, the best states were Montana with 67.5% inbound van moves, followed by Vermont at 65.8%, Arkansas at 62.7%, North Carolina at 61.4% and South Carolina at 59.4%.

      Oh, how did California’s economic arch-rivals fare? Texas was 19th best at 53.6% inbound and Florida was No. 14 at 55.6%.

      Bottom line

      California’s weather, landscape and wealth creation are no longer a big lure to other Americans.

      Everything from high living costs to tax policies to crowded living to questions about safety have dramatically dimmed California’s attractiveness.
      …
      https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2024-01-14/california-new-residents-lansner

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