POLITICS Inflation /General Finance Insanity

Mine either. But you deal with it and stay close in the best way you can.

My great grandparents chose to leverage the strength of the multi generational family to survive and took jobs that allowed them to do that. My Dad and I chose to take jobs that leveraged the job, yet kept us in a relatively close (drive hours) proximity of our family (excluding our military and overseas assignments).

Every generation has their choices and challenges and sacrifices. Change is inevitable. You have options in how you choose to deal with change. You choose the priorities in your life.

We (personally) made sacrifices and choices to stay "close", i.e., east of the Mississippi. We turned down higher paying/career building jobs in the West and the Northeast. It was our choice.

People prioritizing multigenerational proximity typically have the means/options and/or are willing to make the choices/sacrifices to make it happen.

 

I bet a lot of that number is created by Nashville.

 

I’m sure the increase may be highest there but the story is the same elsewhere. Movement in rates alone pushes it up what, 60 or 65 percent? And then, in Knoxville for example, prices are up probably 35% minimum and in many cases 45%. That 70% number I would guess is being dragged down by areas outside the larger metros.

 

Reading The Robber Barons.

Modern folks ain’t got nothing on these gents. Rockefeller was a saint compared to a few of these. Wow.

 

The Vanderbilt family was something else.

 

This is the sort of stuff that a colleague and I feel my boss (her former boss) doesn't understand, and it really comes out in money conversations with him.

He's a fair bit older than us (4th grandchild was just born). In his mind, $100,000/year is still a top tier income. He went on for a couple months late last year about how he was really going to take care of me with my upcoming merit increase. Ended up with a 4.54% increase (normal year is 3ish%). And like, yeah, I'm thankful for the extra bump, but the way he was talking suggested something higher, like 10%. And I think 10% is to me what 4.54% is to him. It's like he doesn't recognize that things have changed in the last 5 years, let alone the last 20.

The change is really becoming apparent as we look at our possible move if I get this job I'm interviewing for on Thursday and Friday. We were leaning heavily towards living in Utah. Utah's annual income needed to afford a median-priced home has increased 70.3% since 2020. It's [uck fay]ing bonkers. We are almost certainly just going to keep our house here and rent it out, then rent a house/apartment wherever we move. It's really stupid that that's our best option - owning a house on the other side of the [uck fay]ing country from where we actually live.

 

When people believe things are great right now and don’t understand the general political angst this is exactly what they’re failing to understand. Literally everyone who owns a home that no longer fits their needs (growing family, changing location, etc) or wants to buy their first home is in this position and it sucks.

 

https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1782734161066738102?s=46&t=QWMOZgf3inppeJodtJqHtQ

 

Might be time to evaluate whether some companies need to be broken up.

 

We’re long overdue for a recommitment to strong antitrust enforcement.

 

On antitrust enforcement…

I won’t claim to be an expert, far from it, but from what I’ve seen anecdotally in my career and from stories from peers who’ve had some exposure it seems that the will is there on the enforcement side but that they don’t have the resources or political backing to go after the worst offenders. Which isn’t exactly a shocker, it’s easier to make a case on smaller and less politically connected / lobbied for industries.

 

This is the only time I am for government getting involved in businesses. Needs to be done to the pharmaceutical sector as well.

 

A lot of sectors. Financial, pharm, insurance, food, etc.

And private equity, as well.

 

If I were President I’d try to do to private equity what JFK wanted to do to the CIA.

Step 1 is Americans understanding just how destructive private equity is. Unfortunately I think we’re a long way from that being the case.

 

Private equity is growing a the fastest rate ever. Its going to shrink the stock market every year.

 

We have lost over half of our publicly traded companies since the 90's.

 

To be clear I have no problem with private equity ~in theory~. I have a problem with everything they do that’s dishonest, illegal or should be illegal. And I think there are certain industries where regulation or oversight is necessary to protect the public.

The industry is strip mining this country, plain and simple.

 

Your last point is why I do generally have a problem with private equity and it’s a perfect description. We are strip mining industry at a rapid rate to juice returns and it’s going to be incredibly painful. Same for infrastructure. For 20 years it’s been a constant leverage of the redundancy we invested in for the prior 25+ and it is solidly entering [uck fay] around and find out territory.

 

What needs to be broken up in food?

 

Regulate PE and the rest takes care of itself.

Problem is no one in DC has to backbone to attempt it other than talking a big game.