Curated Content For the Life Underwriting Professional
Source: Michael Hudson: Are Students a Class? | naked capitalism
“Debt is not just a credit instrument, it is an instrument of political and economic control.”
Matt Stoller
Every now and then you stumble upon an article that effectively changes your world view.
“I like Five Guys, but I can buy ground beef and one onion and get pretty close to the same burger for half the cost,” said Mr. Cockerline, who rarely goes to Five Guys anymore. “A hamburger, to me, is not a luxury,”
Brian Cockerline 20 years young Rutgers University student
Clearly what we have is the End of Affluence. When I was a kid going out to eat at a restaurant was the occasional treat. Not many families could afford eating out more than once a week. The family cooked and ate most of our meals at home. I’ve lived in Oklahoma for a while now. We have basic burger platters for around $10. But when you add in drinks and tip the cost starts to add up. Eat out five days a week and you’re incurring substantial expense.
I’m hardly surprised at the traffic numbers. Despite government statistics the economy is anemic. Today’s kids are graduating from college with massive debt and a job market that is unkind.
What’s next? Car sharing? Multiple roommates? Tiny homes?
Source: An Open Letter To Tiny House Hunters « terribleminds: chuck wendig
“Which one did they pick?”
“You fell asleep again, didn’t you?”
This post is for all of the spouses out there subjected to the nightly ritual of watching some version of a house hunting show on HGTV.
Read. Laugh. Repeat. (don’t skip the reader comments cuz they are priceless).
Experts and women who’ve been there share everything you need to know to live under the same roof (again)
Source: Moving Back in With Your Parents Guide – Motto
At first, I thought this was an article from The Onion.
Sadly, it is not.
We analyzed the cost of living and median income levels in 74 U.S. cities to find out where you can still obtain the American Dream across the country.
Source: Decline of the American Dream
Nice set of info-graphics if you’re into that method of data comprehension.
Did I mention I live and work in Oklahoma? Check out The Housing Trilemma from an earlier post.
Economists want to know why prime-age workers, people 25-54, aren’t working. Mary Louise Kelly talks to David Wessel of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution.
Source: Why Are Prime-Age Workers Disappearing From The Job Market? : NPR
Every city wants to have a strong local economy, high quality of life and housing affordability for its residents. Unfortunately these three dimensions represent the Housing Trilemma. A city can achieve success on two but not all three at the same time.
Source: The Housing Trilemma | Oregon Office of Economic Analysis
Check out the graphic above courtesy of the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis. I may have been biased about life in the middle but never had the facts to back up my opinions. But after reading this article I now have facts. This analysis demonstrates a city can have success on two fronts, but rarely on all three.
I started life in New York and grew up in New Jersey. A sizeable amount of time was also spent in Dallas. For over a decade I’ve held the belief that my family could not replicate our lifestyle and quality of life anywhere else in the country. Well, I admit to being wrong. We could probably do as well in Cincinnati, Omaha, or Des Moines.
If you can stand the weather, OKC is not a bad place to live in.
HT – Calculated Risk.
