The trade deficit is a direct consequence of the fact that more workers in other nations are employed producing goods and services for the United States than the other way around. So far, this wealth hemorrhage has been confined to the middle class, compelled to choose between unemployment and underemployment. … Continue reading
Category Archives: Economy
Distribution of Wealth
There’s a rapidly widening gap in the distribution of income and wealth. The latest census data depict a collapsing middle class (this video) details how it happened and its ramifications), high underemployment, low (and declining) labor participation, and rising outlays for disability, food stamps and low-income tax credits. Alarming as … Continue reading
Poverty and Wealth
“The first man who, having fenced in a piece of land, said “This is mine,” and found people naïve enough to believe him, that man was the true founder of civil society. From how many crimes, wars, and murders, from how many horrors and misfortunes might not any one have … Continue reading
700 Appraisers’ Decisions
You Only have to Make 700 +/- Decisions in the Next Six Hours by Diana Jacobs It’s a curious time in which the appraiser finds themselves practicing. There is greater oversight with demands for shorter turnaround time. There are appraisal management companies (AMCs) that shop the appraiser’s turnaround time and … Continue reading
Looser Underwriting Standards
News reports indicate that major banks in the U.S., including J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo, have begun lowering their underwriting standards for one-to-four family homes. The reason: continued decline in new mortgages in January, a Mortgage Bankers Association projection that total originations will decline to $1.116 trillion from approximately … Continue reading
Mass Exodus From The U.S. Workforce – Nov. 2013
The unemployment rate has been declining, but so has labor force participation. Media attention tends to focus on the former and to ignore the latter; as a result, some people wrongly assume that the employment situation is improving and that it’s only a matter of time before things get back … Continue reading
Man-Cession
In the mid 1950s, nearly every man in his prime working years was in the labor force, a category that includes both those who are employed and those actively applying for jobs. Early in 1956 the “participation rate” for men ages 25 to 54 stood at 97.7%. By late … Continue reading
Real Estate
The Secondary Market American institutional lenders commonly fund two types of real estate loans: conventional, and government-insured and/or guaranteed, primarily by the Federal Housing Administration (HUD), the Veterans Administration (VA) and the Farmers Home Administration (FmHa). While lenders may choose to keep loans in their portfolios, the vast majority do … Continue reading