The history of words is curious. Nobody in Mill’s time, with the possible exception of Marx, could have guessed that the word “Communism” would come to denote the military, administrative, and judicial tyranny of an oligarchy, permitting to the workers only so much of the produce of their labor as might be necessary to keep them from violent revolt. Marx, whom we can now see to have been the most influential of Mill’s contemporaries, is, so far as I have been able to discover, not mentioned in any of Mill’s writings, and it is quite probable that Mill never heard of him. The Communist Manifesto was published in the same year as Mill’s Political Economy, but the men who represented culture did not know of it. I wonder what unknown person in the present day will prove, a hundred years hence, to have been the dominant figure of our time.
In the latest round of environmental review versus the world (or do it my way legislation), the boxers are the almighty climate combatants versus those who request a road expansion. I should qualify. When I say ‘request,’ I mean demonstrated demand through usage. If the roadways are full, then it’s safe to say that the participants find travel along that freeway by car best suits their needs. Once vehicles come to a standstill on a commute, they are polluting an extra amount by idling. Managing the road system to facilitate flow keeps emissions lower.
A new law passed last year requires an environmental review before authorizing a roadway enlargement. Calculating a social cost at the time of the transaction, like a road installation, is an interesting thing to do. It should be done in conjunction with calculating of all the other benefits prompt and efficient transporation offers, such as getting the elderly to their doctors’ appointments or kids to their extra-circular activities, as well as getting commuters to their jobs.
Residents are dong that all the time. Cars cost money to own and maintain. Consumers will use them when they are their best option. Denying a population access to a road enlargement pushes them to substitute less desireable options. These are less attractive not because of their love affairs with the car, but most probably because they eat into their time and ability to achieve their other daily tasks.
If the goal is to reduce trip miles, then study populations who achieve success at all their goals while using the fewest miles. How is their matrix of choices allowing this to happen? What are their priorities and how did they achieve them. I can promiss one answer. It isn’t because a bureaucrat squeezed their road improvement project.
I have been introduced to so many interesting (and famous!) people through Tyler Cowen’s podcast, Conversations with Tyler. This last one with Joseph Stiglitz is no exception. Tyler knows exactly the tempo to keep the clip of information at a perfect speed. The written follow-up provides links to referenced papers. It’s truly a wonderful service.
The breath of Stiglitz career leaves many areas open for further review. But this comment stumped me a little.
STIGLITZ: Today, the critical issue in trade policy is US CHIPS Act and the IRA. The CHIPS Act was, we had lost the ability to make chips. That meant that if anything happened to Taiwan or Korea, we were in a very vulnerable position. Markets don’t take into account that kind of defense concern, or even the resilience. That goes back to some of my earlier work that markets aren’t very good at assessing risk and pricing risk into the decision-making process.
How does he mean that the market does not take into account national defense? Undoubtedly the chips made in Taiwan are produced at a lower cost than in the US, hence the benefit from trade. But where is the documentation to show the accounting of that price drop? Surely people think that a portion of the discount is from the difference in state governance?
When US retailers buy from a textile plant in Bangladesh, they are aware of the different standards imposed (or not imposed) on the building facilities. Surely they factor that into the the price difference? The US retailers could choose to pay a bit more under the conditions that the building and machinery were held to a high standard, should they choose.
The dynanism of the market will adjust to new circumstances and knowledge as it surfaces under changing conditions.
My tea rose bushes bloomed spectacularly this spring. A neighbor texted to say her husband needs advice as his plant looked meager in comparison. There are general weather conditions which contribute to the performance of garden plants. Blooms, however, are often the product of a little grooming. Rose bushs like to be trimmed back once the petals are falling into the landscape rock below.
Lilac bushes also enjoy a good haircut once their blooms have faded. Be agressive and cut the stems of the plant down by a foot. A few short weeks later you will notice multiple new off-shoots at every cut.
In eleven months each of these sprigs will be bending from the lilac blooms. A heavy scent will remind you of an elderly aunt with pressed powder make-up.
This is a great series. The clashing of European and Japanese customs are just one interesting twist in the struggle for power following the death of a great ruler. Another is the depth and power of the female characters. I can’t think of an english speaking war genre with a similar balance of captivating roles.
I remember the splash James Cavell’s novel Shogun made when it was published in 1975. We were also living abroad, and the depiction of cultural interaction was familiar. My brother remembers it as the first novel he could read straight through. The strength of the story lines holds the imagination of all ages, including that of a fourteen-year-old.
Even though a copy of his 1980 book Noble House stakes a spot on my bookshelf, I haven’t thought of James Cavell in years. His background is (perhaps predictably) adventurous.
Changi became my university instead of my prison. Among the inmates there were experts in all walks of life—the high and the low roads. I studied and absorbed everything I could from physics to counterfeiting, but most of all I learned the art of surviving, the most important course of all.[5]
Prisoners were fed a quarter of a pound (110 g) of rice per day, one egg per week and occasional vegetables. Clavell believed that if atomic bombs had not been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki he would not have survived the war.[5]
Allison Shertzer takes issue with the headline’s cryptic economic message. If there is enough housing, then the price for occupancy should settle to the price each resident can afford. If there are fifty homes in a settlement and fifty households, then those who can pay the most pick first, and down the line, the pricing match shuffles until the last match of the least desirable to the household to those with the least resources. This simplified balance market omits nuances like how two homes are tied up when people transition from one property to another. Or that when major renovations are underway, it is difficult to live on the property, so it is vacant.
The basic premise, however, is that when there are sufficient structures to shelter every household, the price to live in those structures is pushed through the system to reflect consumers’ ability to pay. After all, even at the lowest end of the scale, it would be better for the property owner to receive some income from a less advantaged person than to let the property sit vacant.
Or is it?
It is refreshing to see a study confirming that dwellings are, in the big picture, available in sufficient numbers. “The numbers showed that from 2010 to 2020, household formation did exceed the number of homes available. However, there was a large surplus of housing produced in the previous decade. In fact, from 2000 to 2020, housing production exceeded the growth of households by 3.3 million units. The surplus from 2000 to 2010 more than offset the shortages from 2010 to 2020.”
This article tries more than most to zero in on what is concerning. It’s not affordability in general. When ten parties are bidding on a house, that tells us there are plenty of households who find the price within their range of acceptability. When houses are selling, and apartments are rented, then folks have the funds to make those arrangements work.
What is of concern, and has always been of concern, is sheltering those at the very lowest of means. This brings us back to the question: If there are open units to occupy, is there a reason why they would be left vacant instead of settling for some cash flow? Yes, there is a reason. In some cases, the net monthly cash flow is negative. The issue is being talked about as if it concerns the building, but it’s really about the necessity of support services.
It would be even more refreshing if the conversation went in that direction instead of hammering away about building affordable housing, which is another cryptic economic fallacy.
Some numbers are hard to find. The number of permits pulled to build homes, for instance, are shrouded in mystery. For all of you counting building starts, however, I have the link for you! The statistics can be found on the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. You can break it down to the county level.
According to HUD Minnesota’s total for building permits pulled in 2023 was 25,665.
In the 1988 movie Working Girl, Sigourney Weaver has a dramatic entrance to a boardroom setting complete with a bevy of men in grey three-piece suits and heavy mahogany paneling. Her hair is 80s height, her attire speaks a woman of means, and her use of crutches is both intimidating and explanatory as to why she wasn’t invited to the meeting. Weaver’s urgency to attend is due to, as she announces, “Gentlemen, we have a deal on the table.”
The coming together of parties to a transaction is often featured in cinema in this high-drama boardroom fashion. Tension is integral to two parties, each feeling the other is getting the best of them, and they stand off with their legal eagles at hand. Both benefit from the trade, or they would not be present. The pressure to settle is high.
Weaver is there to claim her stake in the transaction, as there are many participants in the successful execution of a trade. The close of deal-making is when each party comes away with either what they’ve given or what they’ve gotten. There is a settling of accounts.
This verdict, made up of love and hatred, was given once more by Debussy in more graphic, less definite terms which unite, whilst contrasting them, the names of Bach and Wagner: In conclusion, Wagner’s work suggests a striking picture: Bach as the Holy Grail, Wagner as Klingsor wishing to crush the Grail and usurp its place…. Bach shines supreme over music, and in his goodness he has reserved for our hearing words as yet unknown, of the great lesson he has bequeathed us of disinterested love of music. Wagner disappears into the background… He is fading away … a black, disturbing shadow.
In his final analysis Debussy’s chief grievance against the great artist who degraded symphony to the service of his tragedies was a lack of this passion-disinterested love of music. For Debussy was above all a musician, whilst Wagner was above all a dramatist.
When my kids were young I tool them to a fund raiser called Empty Bowls. Participants crafted bowls from supplies laid out by volunteers. Then came back to glaze them. On the final day they returned to pick up the creations in exchange for a donation towards curbing hunger in the community. Little did I know at the time that this would launch my daughter’s pottery vocation.
She crafted this pot, sturdy enough to hold my orchid’s heavy blooms.
Pottery workshops are offered in various places all over the world. There’s Seagrove Potters in North Carolina, there’s Royal Delft pottery in the Netherlands, and there’s Stoke-on-Trent in Great Britain which claims to be the ceramics capital of the world.
Mostly I am happy to see her take a liking to a creative process.
Albert Hirshman describes an economic motion in his book Exit, Voice and Loyalty (1970). Parties can withdraw if they do not care for a product or arrangement. They may attempt to impact the process by exercising their voice. Over time, loyalties develop, which influence the superstructure of relationships.
It seems Hirshman would agree with his contemporary, Milton Friedman, about the benefits of school vouchers. Should a family be displeased with a pedantic school district, they could collect a coupon for their tax dollar input and cash it in at another more vibrant district. Since schools are tied to geographies, consumers always have the choice to relocate their homes to attend elsewhere. Vouchers make the process more fungible.
Hirschman outlined the logic of the exit option and how noted how increased competition could improve government performance. But competition didn’t solve all problems, and the exit option had several important drawbacks. The freedom to exit was often used by the most ambitious, educated, or well-to-do users of a particular service, and once they exited, those remaining were even poorer, less educated, and less demanding. Moreover, Hirschman pointed out, the possibility of exit weakened the effectiveness of voice, that is, the ability to directly change the management’s behavior through feedback, discussion, and criticism.
As Frank Fukuyama explains in his American Interest piece, Hirshman didn’t believe vouchers were the answer to improving a school system. Unlike other commodities, the departure of the stronger students from the classroom has a negative impact on the remaining students. This observation gives a new form to education. Casting the product in this light projects a little amber glow onto all members of the school community. The mission is to educate everyone. If not an educator or a student, the role may be to voice praise or criticism.
A school does not produce widgets on an assembly line, but a group process produces educated students. Changing the composition of the pool of players can have both positive and negative effects on the outcomes. And there are roles for an audience as well.
An associate asked if I’d consider a donation to World Vision, a philathropy dedicated to assisting children in poverty. I’m familiar with their work as they’ve been present in the developping world since I was a kid. Still- I did my due diligence and checked out their website: World Vision.
At the bottom of the web page the site offers linkes to organization which can vouch for their efficacy as a non-profit organization.
But I wanted to know the individual theoeries behind each on the tiles listed under the tab ‘Ways to Help.’ So I asked ChatGPT to break down an analysis.
Monetary Contributions:
Research planned giving options:
Input: Donors contribute financial resources through wills, stocks, IRAs, or gift annuities.
Return: Theoretical support from Social Exchange Theory suggests that donors gain satisfaction, tax benefits, and a sense of legacy by supporting a cause, fostering a reciprocal relationship with the organization and society.
Philanthropy:
Input: Christian philanthropists invest significant financial resources.
Return: According to Altruism Theory, the return is intrinsic satisfaction and fulfillment from helping others, along with potential social recognition and community status.
Create your own fundraising page:
Input: Individuals invest time and social capital to raise funds.
Return:Prosocial Behavior Theory supports the idea that individuals receive social approval, increased self-esteem, and a sense of accomplishment from mobilizing resources for a good cause.
Shop for a cause:
Input: Consumers spend money on products where proceeds support World Vision.
Return:Cause-Related Marketing Theory suggests consumers gain utility from purchasing needed items while simultaneously supporting a cause, enhancing their perceived personal value and satisfaction.
Donate cryptocurrency:
Input: Donors provide cryptocurrency assets.
Return: The Theory of Planned Behavior implies that donors are motivated by perceived ease of donation, tax advantages, and the belief that their actions will significantly impact.
Find donation-matching employers:
Input: Employees donate and leverage employer matching programs.
Return:Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Theory suggests that employees feel greater satisfaction and loyalty towards their employer, while employers gain enhanced reputation and employee engagement.
Volunteering Time and Effort:
Volunteer at a warehouse:
Input: Volunteers invest time and physical effort.
Return:Volunteer Function Inventory (VFI) indicates that volunteers gain personal growth, social connections, and fulfillment from contributing to a meaningful cause.
Host an event:
Input: Organizers invest time and resources to plan and execute events.
Return:Event Management Theory suggests organizers receive community recognition, personal satisfaction, and social networking opportunities.
Run or walk for clean water:
Input: Participants invest time and physical effort in running or walking events.
Return:Health Belief Model supports that participants benefit from improved health, social interaction, and the satisfaction of contributing to a cause.
Build kits with your group:
Input: Groups invest time and effort to assemble kits.
Return:Group Dynamics Theory posits that groups enhance cohesion, collective efficacy, and mutual support while achieving a shared goal.
Knit blankets and sweaters:
Input: Individuals invest time and skill in knitting.
Return:Flow Theory suggests that engaging in this activity provides a state of flow, where individuals experience deep satisfaction and absorption in a meaningful task.
Pray for those in need:
Input: Individuals invest time and spiritual energy in prayer.
Return:Spiritual Well-Being Theory indicates that individuals gain a sense of peace, purpose, and connection to a higher cause through prayer.
Corporate and Group Engagement:
Explore corporate partnerships:
Input: Companies invest resources to engage employees in charitable activities.
Return:Stakeholder Theory supports that companies enhance their reputation, employee morale, and customer loyalty by demonstrating social responsibility.
Ignite your Christian school:
Input: Schools invest in educational programs on poverty and injustice.
Return:Transformative Learning Theory suggests that students experience personal growth, increased awareness, and a commitment to social justice.
Activate your church congregation:
Input: Congregations invest time and resources in community engagement.
Return:Community Engagement Theory posits that congregations strengthen community bonds, deepen spiritual growth, and enhance collective efficacy.
Do the 30-Hour Famine:
Input: Students and participants invest time and experience temporary hunger.
Return:Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis supports that participants develop greater empathy, a deeper understanding of global hunger, and a stronger commitment to social action.
Ask for a World Vision speaker:
Input: Organizations invest time and resources to host speakers.
Return:Narrative Theory suggests that audiences gain inspiration, motivation, and a deeper emotional connection to the cause through storytelling.
Advocacy and Voice:
Tell congress what matters:
Input: Individuals invest time and effort to communicate with legislators.
Return:Civic Engagement Theory indicates that individuals feel empowered, experience increased political efficacy, and contribute to shaping public policy.
Connect kids with sponsors:
Input: Ambassadors invest time and social capital to promote child sponsorship.
Return:Social Capital Theory suggests that ambassadors build networks, enhance their social influence, and experience fulfillment from facilitating connections that improve children’s lives.
“No, not anything. They name a lot of cars or clothes or swimming pools mostly and say how swell!
But they all say the same things and nobody says anything different from anyone else. And most of the time in the caves they have the joke boxes on and the same jokes most of the time, or the musical wall lit and all the colored patterns running up and down, but it’s only color and all abstract. And at the museums, have you ever been? All abstract. That’s all there is now. My uncle says it was different once. A long time back sometimes pictures said things or even showed people.”
There was a presumption toward voluntarism in human affairs, but in recognition that our nature is divided between a cooperative nature and an opportunistic nature we must figure out a way to curb our opportunistic side if we hope to realize the fruits of our cooperative side. While our cooperative nature is reflected in our propensity to truck, barter and exchange (which no other species actually exhibits), our opportunistic side is revealed in the warring nature witnessed throughout human history. Political economy solved the puzzle by suggesting that we could sacrifice in a small way the presumption of voluntarism in order to create a government which will curb our opportunistic side and enable our cooperative side to flourish. Thus was born the argument for limited, but effective, government that was the core of classical liberal thought from John Locke, David Hume and Adam Smith to more contemporary writers such as Frank Knight, Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, Milton Friedman and James Buchanan.
Clients who want to live in an old neighborhood have few choices. The open land is gone. Most homes that are in the neighborhood are in good enough shape to add value to the lot upon which they are perched. Ideally, the clients want to find a tear down, or a home is such rough shape that most everyone cannot see a renovation opportunity. But it doesn’t stop there. As this thread explains, there are more issues in play.
Had a buyer reach out about building a new single family house on this empty lot. Right out the gate, they sent me completed borings, structural & architectural plans and details from seller. Fishy yes.. why would an owner have this much info available for empty land 🤔 1/5 pic.twitter.com/NDMflYU5AA
— J. Smith, Architect (@AmbitiousThnkr) June 10, 2024
Soil testing and estimates for debris removal and site prep are easy numbers to come by. The tricky bits of information is whether the plan the clients have in mind will fit on the parcel and still comply with the building codes and municipal ordinances.
Lack of information results in uncertainty. Too much uncertainty and people do not want to move forward. That’s not progress!
Before Minnesota achieved statehood, the Territory of Minnesota enacted a homestead exemption statute that shielded homestead property from “sale on execution, or other process of a court.” Rev. Terr. Stat., ch. 71, § 93 (1851). When Minnesota entered the Union, the homestead exemption was incorporated into the Minnesota Constitution and it remains there today. Minn. Const. of 1857, art. I, § 12. In relevant part, Article I, Section 12, provides that a “reasonable amount of property shall be exempt from seizure or sale for the payment of any debt or liability.” The purpose of the homestead exemption is to “preserve the homestead to the family even at the sacrifice of just demands.” Holden v. Farwell, Ozmun, Kirk & Co., 223 Minn. 550, 558-59, 27 N.W.2d 641, 646 (1947). Indeed, in order to ensure “a stable and independent citizenry and thereby promote the public welfare, it has always been the policy of the law to protect with jealous zeal the homestead right of the citizen.” Id. at 558, 27 N.W.2d at 646.
The Legislature has enacted various statutes implementing the constitutional directive. Minnesota Statutes § 510.01 (2012) defines the homestead as the “house owned and occupied by a debtor as the debtor’s dwelling place, together with the land upon which it is situated to the amount of area and value hereinafter limited and defined.” Minnesota Statutes § 510.02 (2012) further provides that the homestead exemption shall be limited to 160 acres or less, and shall not exceed $300,000, or $750,000 if the homestead is primarily used for agricultural purposes, subject to periodic adjustment of the dollar amounts in the manner set forth in Minn. Stat. § 550.37, subd. 4a (2012). The exemption extends to the debts of both spouses even if only one spouse holds legal title to the homestead property. See Minn. Stat. § 510.04 (2012).
Consistent with the purpose of preserving the homestead to the family, Minnesota law has, at least since 1865, provided that no conveyance of the homestead by a husband is valid unless “the wife joins in the deed of conveyance.” Minn. Gen. Stat., ch. 68, § 5 (1865). That requirement, which is currently codified at Minn. Stat. § 507.02, is now gender-neutral and provides:
If the owner is married, no conveyance of the homestead, except a mortgage for purchase money under section 507.03, a conveyance between spouses pursuant to section 500.19, subdivision 4, or a severance of a joint tenancy pursuant to section 500.19, subdivision 5, shall be valid without the signatures of both spouses. A spouse’s signature may be made by the spouse’s duly appointed attorney-in-fact.
I’m an advocate for homeownership. No question. But to develop products which prematurely get people of little means into a home is irresponsible. For example:
0% down payments are back…
How it works: First-time homebuyers making 80% of their area’s median income or less…
• Buyers take out a mortgage for 97% of the value of the house.
• The remaining 3% (up to $15,000) takes the form of a second mortgage without interest.
— Tyler | Kenji Capital (@KenjiCapital) June 8, 2024
For a time the monthly expenses may be all that is owed. After a while larger mechancial expenses appear. Some can be deferred by stop gapping replacements here and there. Eventually the folks will end up with a home that has not appreciated because of all the impending repairs.
Purely by chance, I parked across the street from what turned out to film venue which specializes in vintage productions. There was a handy leaflet right under the red letters ‘cinema.’ So I grabed one, as old movies often appeal to me.
I prefer to watch a recommended film just to take some of the risk out of the time investment. A Brief Encounter was coming up as a summer viewing option. The screenplay was written by Noel Coward which sounded promising. The blurb suggested that it was one of the best British films ever made.
I didn’t quite see it that way and drifted off about half way through the production.
More qualifiers would be nice when people suggest something is the best of its kind. It seems that there are many layers of what a film could be. So what is this one the best at? Maybe more context is needed. That’s certainly the case when evaluating so many things.
Consider the stylized fact that unmet demand is most-inexpensively delivered on low-cost land at the periphery of the commuting shed, known as a “greenfield” site. This type of development uses low-cost, low-density construction methods. However, in productive and desirable urban areas, low-cost land—especially close to jobs and retail—is quickly consumed, pushing single-family home builders farther away from the amenities that make these urban areas attractive. Eventually, this progression reaches a limit in which commuting back to these amenities is too costly. At this point, the greenfield land is effectively “built out,” and developers are forced to look inward to more expensive land closer to the core where spatial amenities are valued by renters and buyers. When this “infill” development becomes a larger share of new housing supply, the marginal cost of supplying a new housing unit will increase, and the elasticity of supply will fall. Thus, even in the absence of different regulatory regimes, an MSA with more population and more density will appear to have a steeper supply curve because large and growing urban markets naturally progress in this direction.
Real estate has a history of being talked about in static numbers. Orlando and Redfearn discover a dynamic in their research. A city grows along the fringe where the developers can build over large parcels of undeveloped land. This is the most consumer-friendly by meeting the desired structure for the lowest cost. But at some point, the authors observe that the commute to a central business district causes infill projects to gain in status. At that point, a city gains new units within the old infrastructure instead of in the greenfield.
Much of what we have learned in the two decades since DiPasquale (1999) first prompted the field to investigate housing supply is aggregate and static in nature. The goal of this empirical work is to document the location of housing stocks within several MSAs over a long time of growth. The results presented in the article are largely descriptive. It is abundantly clear that aggregate analyses miss the compelling dynamics we documented.
Why stop at the trade-off between low cost fringe housing versus commute time? There are many other interesting dynamics to expore.
Today is the 35 anniversary of the end of the Tienanmen Square protests in China, following a massacre of students by Chinese security forces [https://t.co/bEg1wQYQ1e]. The courage shown by never-identified “Tank Man” took place in the immediate aftermath:pic.twitter.com/TaKj7WgL0o
I see this in reverse. The beauty of real estate is that it keeps people honest.
One big problem in housing policy is that incumbent homeowners want prices to go up, and non-incumbents want the opposite. This new paper shows that homeowners will switch their votes to incumbents when home prices rise, and vice-versa.https://t.co/xBzw8NrTJhpic.twitter.com/lNvfMEDt9h
The Timberwolves lost to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday at the Target Center, but they brought home a win to Minnesota fans. It’s been a couple of decades since the franchise has had this level of success. They brought the audience along to more than one close game just to sneak out the win to stay alive. Fans loved it.
But it’s the team members who are saying team endearments at this stage of their season. Mike Conley, a 17 year veteran of the sport said in an interview that his teammates have renewed his love for the game. They have made him feel young again.
The others too have talked about dedication to a whole new year of getting back to the top. This mutual support is refreshing to see. I hope they become the role models they seem to be as we are all better when we work together.
“Next year we gonna be right back here” – Anthony Edwards
My grandmother would tell a story of giving in their rural Iowa community. Word would get out after a Sunday service at Holmes Lutheran Church that a family was in need. A gathering of kids’ clothes or staple food supplies would be left in a neutral pickup area, maybe at the end of a driveway. Then the mother in need would later pick it up. Poverty was shameful, you see. Direct contact in the transference of aid would be a disrespectful slight on their condition.
The evolution of social welfare has come a long way since the happenings along the gravel roads squaring off sections of farmland. Provision of resources funnels through formal government channels instead of being left solely to the church aid societies of the 50s. Efforts to detach stigma from acceptance of aid are ongoing. The evolution of food stamps is a credit card with funds for the purchase. Free lunches are provided in all school buildings so there is no distinguishing between families that qualify for aid and those who don’t.
It’s hard to see how public humiliation in the face of unforeseen circumstances is profitable. However these control mechanisms were developed as a means of discouraging group members from taking more out of the communal pot of resources than needed. It was a social metering of loosely held assets. Back-up reserves are not attached to one specific individual in the group. They are intended to meet the shortfalls of the worse off.
Scolding looks are used in other ways to keep up shared appearances, When the neighbor grass is getting knee high they may feel the scorn of dogwalkers as they pass on the sidewalk. Pushing and nudging with looks, back turns, and low whispers are simply how it’s done in society when it’s thought necessary to get the word out about control of shared space.
There’s a two-fold reason these norms are swept away in the face of dire poverty. The unkindness is too harsh as the victims are too vulnerable. And furthermore who wants to discourage, in any way, a mother from taking food for their child? The desire for stigma-free acceptance of benefits for kids is simply a long-term win for the group. Healthy kids make for healthy adults.
There are those who, however, may come to an erroneous conclusion about the tapping of public benefits without those disdainful social guardrails. Some will pursue as many benefits as they can find available to them with no personal calculation of need. And others still take the pursuit of public benefits as a business model. They dreamt of being an entrepreneur, they say. This claim is being made in defiance of accusations of fraud.
When public goods and resources are formalized through government metering, then funny things happen. They no longer have the appearance of a common pool resource but rather they take on a more private form under the guise of a ‘program.’ Gone are the nuances of need-based use. Instead, they are peddled and appropriated in a coin-counting manner.
Perhaps an ingredients label is required. This is a one-hundred percent publically funded resource. It is fraudulent to transact outside its intended mission.
The figure shows that after a boost in library capital investment, reading test scores steadily increased. In the short run, library investments increased reading scores by 0.01 standard deviations. Seven years out from a project, scores were 0.04 standard deviations higher in districts that invested in public libraries than their counterparts.
I’ll wager there are further tie-ins between libraries and the general social well-being of surrounding neighbors. Personally, I plan to brush up on my french.
As the Lift/Uber kerfuffle comes to a close, it will be interesting to see what is learned from the two year process of politicians acting as labor negotiators between the independent ride share drivers and the platform owners.
The Governor singed a bill amid grandstanding to settle a set ride fare which all parties found acceptable. This is a win as the service is valued by a spectrum of riders and sectors. The negotiations, however, were lengthy. As one council member recently observed, the final horse trading involved in getting to ‘yes’ from all sides used up the political capital that could have been used to get the bonding bill done this year. No bonding bill means no bonding money for all the projects requested across the sate. The loss is all the agreements that were left unconsidered due to the distraction of a relatively small pool of workers.
Economists refer to this as opportunity costs. If your capital is doing one thing, it can’t be doing another. Some might say the politicians are constrained by the amount of time they have in a session to review, discuss, and come to terms on items of public concern. But if public officials are in the profession of providing goods and services of value to their constituents, doesn’t it follow that their choice of which products to work on is actionable? To not make time for the bonding bill is a choice not a constraint
For those who love adventure and real-world challenges, body and mind. Nature is a heaven on Earth. Here, Pastor, we surely agree. The Creation, whether you believe it was placed on this planet by a single act of God or accept the scientific evidence that it evolved autonomously during billions of years, is the greatest heritage, other than the reasoning mind itself, ever provided to humanity.
In Jennifer Burns biography of Milton Friedman, the famous economist is portrayed as affable and polite even under duress.
Still- he had many detractors. People in this camp, I suspect, might have been turned off by the thought that every service or enterprise is done better in the private sector.
Here is a section from Milton Friedman, the Last Conservative explaining how easy it would be to charge to enter the National Parks. And there is a small fee to access the park, as there is the cost of a stamp to post a letter.
“The entrances to a national park like Yellowstone, on the other hand, are few,” continued the Friedmans. It would be easy to set up tolls at the entrance. “I the public wants this kind of an activity enough to pay for it, private enterprise will have every incentive to provide such parks,” they concluded. Similar logic extended to the post office, public housing, toll roads, and even Social Security. Each of these could be more efficiently handled by private enterprise, the Friedmans proposed, enumerating a list of fourteen “activities currently undertaken by government in the U.S.” that could not be justified by their principles. “This list is far from comprehensive,” the authors noted.
But haven’t you ever wondered why some things remain in public hands while some are replaced by private alternatives?
Why are most parks public? Why is USPS still around after all the alternative forms of communication have evolved? Why do toll roads exist only in limited markets?
History continues to challenge the Friedmans’ view that all goods and services respond best in traditional private markets.
This new series on Netflicks has a nice mix of rivalaries and atavistic responses. As in all good stories there are several story lines intertwined. Jeff Bridges and Diane Lane anchor the acting while a flury of lesser known actors flush out their roles. So far I’m happy to have clicked on this new offering.
Nozick is a lesser know political philosopher who wrote Anarchy, State and Utopia in 1974. It was offered as a response to John Rawl’s theory of justice. One point of contention revolves around different methods for redistributing resources to the least advantaged. Should this be a top down imposed structure or spontaneously emerge from the churning motion of voluntary action from below?
Some fear individual action is inadequate if left to the individual. Hence the need for control. In this passage Nozick captures the essence of individual action toward communal goals. The delight of it secures its success.
Consider the members of a basketball team, all caught up in playing basketball well. (Ignore the fact that they are trying to win, though is it an accident that such feelings often arise when some unite against others?) They do not play primarily for money. They have a primary joint goal, and each subordinates himself to achieving this common goal, scoring fewer points himself than he otherwise might. If all are tied together by joint participation in an activity toward a common goal that each ranks as his most important goal, then fraternal feeling will fourish. They will be united and unselfish; they will be one. But basketball players, of course, do not have a common highest goal; they have separate families and lives. Still we might imagine a society in which all work together to achieve a common highest goal. Under the framework, any group of persons can so coalesce, form a movement, and so forth. But the structure itself is diverse; it does not itself provide or guarantee that there will be any common goal that all pursue jointly. It is borne in upon one, in contemplating such an issue, how appropriate it is to speak of “individualism” and (the word coined in opposition to it) “socialism.” It goes without saying that any persons may attempt to unite kindred spirits, but, whatever their hopes and longings, none have the right to impose their vision of unity upon the rest.
Come to find out, property insurance rates on a $300,000 home vary by state. They vary a lot. The annual premiums for a dwelling in Missouri and Mississippi are twice as much as Maryland and Maine. Minnesota is, of course, just average.
If you haven’t thought about your insurance coverage in a while it might be an idea to dust off the policy and dig into what is covered. Some riders are negligible in cost yet nice to have when the situation arises. And example for coverage is on the water line from the meter in your basement to the connector at the street. Standard deductibles have also gone up from $1000 to $2500. The larger deductible may save your annual premium $200-$300.
Also, be sure to understand how the coverage works. With all the roof claims, often driven by contractors knocking on doors after a hailstorm goes through a neighborhood, companies have changed the payouts on roof replacements. Many companies will prorate the coverage once a roof is over fifteen years old. If the storm comes through in the twentieth year of the asphalt shingle life, then the homeowner only gets paid the value of the remaining years of life.
A periodic review is indeed essential for staying informed about external factors that may affect your insurance coverage. Even if you are content with your current provider, the insurance market continuously evolves, making regular evaluations crucial for ensuring that your coverage aligns with your needs and the prevailing circumstances.
As of 2022 there were 69 million Boomers, accounting for 21% of the U.S. population, and 38% of total homeowner households. Boomers are overrepresented in the homeowner demographic because homeownership rates tend to increase as households age, gradually starting to decline as households age beyond age 75 (Exhibit 4).
As of 2022, Boomers were between 58-76 years of age. By 2035, these Boomers will be between the ages of 71 and 89. We estimate the retention rates of these age cohorts as they age over the period from 2000-202211(Exhibit 5).
Applying these retention rates to the Boomer households as of 2022, we estimate the number of Boomer households each year through 2035. We find a gradual decline in the number of Boomer households over time from around 32 million in 2022 to 23 million by 2035 as the oldest Boomers reach ages close to 90. Per this estimate, there will be 9.2 million fewer Boomer homeowner households by 2035 (Exhibit 6).
That’s more than 9 million homes available for the Gen Z’s who are entering into their home buying years.
I’ve recently crossed paths with an individual who slides in the expression God Willing as a qualifier. Whether at the beginning or the end of a sentence, there it is. You are asked to have faith that it is God’s will. It’s neither preachy nor awkward, but rather comforting the way it lines right up with the other words he uses to communicate.
Many languages and cultures incorporate similar phrases. Inshallah is an Arabic expression meaning “if God wills” or “God willing.” In Latin a signator of a letter may have closed with Deo Volento, with hopes the message has arrived to the intended recipient. And in the King James version of the Christian Bible it appears in James 4:14-4:15.
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
Roberta Estes at Native Heritage Project writes about an expression she remembers from her childhood, “God Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise.”
Did you know the saying “God willing and the Creek don’t rise” was in reference to the Creek Indians and not a body of water? We didn’t.
It turns out that the phrase was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. He was a politician and Indian agent. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington. In his response, he was said to write, “God willing and the Creek don’t rise.” Because he capitalized the word “Creek” it is deduced that he was referring to the Creek Indian tribe and not a body of water.
Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday- God Willing.
There are 41 branches of the Hennepin County Library system serving the 1.6 million residents of the county. Some are historic buildings, some have scenic views over a lake, and some have a modern flare. All are well frequented.
Mission and vision
Our mission is to inspire, facilitate, and celebrate lifelong learning.
Shaped by the information needs and aspirations of our residents, we envision the library as a shared space for enrichment and connection.
Library services are an important part of thriving and interconnected communities. We believe that every Hennepin County resident should have a library card and use it regularly.
Although visits haven’t reached the 5 million high benchmark from pre-pandemic days, borrowing has surged to 12 million items. Visitors also use library spaces for remote work or gatherings in one of the many conference rooms.
When so many people of interest site a library or a librarian as an inspiration at a younger age, I wonder why more correlations are not made between library useage and outcomes in other areas.
There’s a huge turnout for the book sale fundraisers. At this one the first couple in line put in for a 45 minute wait.
In this five minute video clip, Frederick Melo with the St. Paul Pioneer Press refers to a number of important real estate outcomes. He was invited to the weekly PBS show, Almanac, due to a recent announcement that a portfolio of commercial buildings, including the iconic First National Bank Building, is being listed for sale.
The collection of buildings are owned Madison Equities. Long time real estate developer, Jim Crockarell died in January and his heirs are not interested in being landlords. Building owners can gain emotional attachment to their properties as appears to be the case here. Some of them were half empty and some completely empty. Significant vacancies do not happen on the turn of a dime. Commercial leases are multi-year and companies have an investmest in their locations. So this recent announcement reflects activity which has been brewing for a while.
Well known architectural firm, TKDA, is also moving. They are relocating to Bloomington to keep workers happy. After 100 years, the downtown devotees are succumbing to practical desires for free parking. An added feature is scenic vistas over the Minnesota River. To attract workers back into the built environment, they are seeking out new surroundings in the third largest city in the state.
US Bank is also stepping away from downtown yet still staying in St. Paul. Workers here also say no to the densest part of the city. Melo reports that the building has had ghost leases for years. While technically under contract, the one-employee-per-floor occupancy has been a long-time indicator of what the future held.
What to do with all these vancant buildings is the question of the day. The solution under proposal is converting the office space to living space. But conversions are very expensive and the demand for residential in the capital city is not as strong as next door neighbor in her sister city. It’s a tough place to live.
Grants and tax increment financing are being proposed as public interventions. Is this a good idea? I’m not so sure. The mayor is quiet letting a non-profit alliance offer investment strategies. Their approach is to focus on one street at a time. One street a downtown does not make.
Cathy Wurzer brings in the ringer of a topic just at the end. Crime and personal safety. These are real issues that have been muted in the last four years. People don’t want to have to worry about being carjacked at knife-point when they’ve got a head full of kid’s programming and an armful of work manuals. Proximity to violence is a deal breaker for many people.
I had not heard of the study the Downtown Alliance had done around the DT Greeters pre and post pandemic. Within a district where a tax was collected to support the greeter program, quality of life crimes decreased by 40%. Whereas in the adjacent Lowertown area (where the St. Paul Saints stadium is located) crimes increased by 20%. Jim Crockarell, the real estate developer, opposed the district. This is speculation, but I’m guessing he thought greeting people and being busy maintainers of sidewalk safety was meant to be organic. It was the civic thing to do. Yet here is concrete data that an organized effort to deter crime, a significant motivator, was successful with subsidized labor.
In review, we were told about multiple exits to the city core. Be careful to note this was not a sudden occurance. We heard about emotional attachments beyond the pull of financial prudence. We heard about consumer driven needs for parking and easy access. We heard about the impracticality of retrofitting the built environment (file under why so many old buildings come down). We heard about public subsidies that will fall woefully short of the task. We heard about the big driver, safety, which is often kept on the QT so as not to implicate an area.
Man who kept his boat besides his house was ordered from the city to put up a fence to hide the boat from view. So he built the fence and hired someone to paint it. pic.twitter.com/wrkQh6RjXn
Not only does the article list out the actors: “This largely decentralized network of agitators is, in turn, politically and financially supported by a vast web of progressive nonprofits, NGOs, foundations, and dark-money groups ultimately backed by big-money donors aligned with the Democratic Party.”
But also gives shape to the dynamics of the interaction:
These groups, Shideler says, typically operate in a decentralized manner, using successful tactics drawn from decades of anarchist organizing and spread through left-wing activist networks via word-of-mouth, as well as through formal trainings by professionals such as Fithian or the nonprofit “movement incubator” Momentum Strategies. “If you look at Fithian,” he says, “she has consulted with hundreds of groups on how to do these things: how to organize, how to protest, how to make sure your people don’t go to jail, how to help them once they’re in jail.” There is no one decision-maker; rather, decentralized “affinity” groups work together toward a shared goal, coordinating out in the open via social media and Google Docs.
There’s a frequent complaint around government’s performance. Measurements for outcomes on public policies are difficult to evaluate. So how do we know when regulations meant to make things better, work?
One sense of it could be reflected by the populations adherence to the new rule. For instance, when smoking was banned from indoor areas there was a lot of grumbling. Now, a quarter-century later, it is rare to enter a home hanging heavy with the sent a-la-ashtray. The constituents agree. No smoking is great! Don’t even think about lighting up by the public entrances to buildings as perfuming oneself with the sent of Marlboros is not OK.
Some cities place permit requirements on all sorts of home improvements. I doubt there are objections to paying for an city inspector to stop out for the significant improvement projects like roof replacement or furnace upgrades. But the fees can hit smaller appliances like gas ranges or hot water heaters too. In these cases the regulatory charge adds an additional ten to twelve percent to the new appliance. After paying a sales tax and a delivery fee, people find this onerous.
As a result, people bypass the permit process. Pretty soon it becomes a known thing and nobody is following the rule. When the public ignores a regulatory process, I’d say it’s time for a reassessment.
Marshall proposed thinking in one of four blocks of time. The first would be a market period, where demand determines price because there is not sufficient time to alter supply. The short run, Marshall’s second period, introduced a new wrinkle: by responding to demand, firms could increase supply, but only by spending more money. So prices might go up, set by the cost of supply, working in tandem with demand.
The third period, the long run, during which firms had time to develop new efficiencies, introduced a further complication. Now rising demand might trigger falling prices as businesses benefited from economies of scale and better organization.
The fourth period, secular time, was Marshall’s nod to history it-self. Secular time was generational time, which might see huge shifts in demographics, knowledge, or political organization, completely refiguring the dynamics of supply and demand. Marshall had found a way to integrate the glacial movements of the ages, the lurches and accelerations of the present, and the universalizing clarity of economic abstraction.
Lifted from Jennifer Burn’s book Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative. She narrates Friedman’s encounter with Alfred Marshall’s book Principles of Economics.
It’s game time for the second in a series against the Denver Nuggets and lead Timberwolves defender Rudy Gobert is taking the night off. For what you say? For the birth of his baby. My. Times have changed.
I guess the team is on-board with his decisions. As they should be.
Gobert and the Timberwolves were well aware that he might have to miss a playoff game for the birth of his child, and the team has been nothing but supportive of his choice to be at his girlfriend’s side for such an important life moment.
“I would do anything I can to be there,” Gobert told the Deseret News in March. “I don’t think there’s any debate to have. Coach Finch and every guy in this locker room, that’s what I love about them, we have a level of human connection and empathy for one another that I think is really good. And I think all the guys will be literally telling me, ‘Don’t play, go.’”
Christ Church is the oldest protestant church in Malaysia. It sits on the same square as the administrative buildings set up by the Dutch in the seventeenth century.
TheStadthuys(an oldDutchspelling, meaningcity hall) is a historical structure situated in the heart ofMalacca City, the administrative capital of the state ofMalacca,Malaysia, in a place known as the Red Square.[1]The Stadthuys is known for its red exterior and nearby red clocktower. It was built by theDutchin 1650 as the office of the Dutch governor and deputy governor. It continued to be used as the Treasury, Post Office, Government Offices, and suites of apartments for the high officials after the takeover by the British.
Many lessons were learned from the Covid lockdown, including knowing which jobs are conducive to work from afar. Employees who work primarily through an internet connection discovered that they preferred working from home as it gave their lives more flexibility. Some employers are now indifferent to where their employees sit when they earn their paychecks. But not all employers are so flexible.
A few years ago, a brouhaha flitted through the local news as it was discovered that the man in charge of our largest, and nationally recognized, library system was running the show from a downtown condo in LA. Minnesota’s weather is indeed a drawback. Still, the Hennepin County Board is in charge of this position and was not amused by someone in a key position choosing to live by the beach instead of in the land of ten thousand lakes.
There’s a consensus that if you are a public employee of stature then you should be experiencing the public environment here, along with the rest of us. You need to part of the team. You need to be in the know of the subtle and sometimes unsaid nuances of an area’s culture and aspirations. To dial in from afar was deemed unacceptable and a severance package was negotiated.
Where you choose to live tells a lot about your preferences. It’s an acceptance of the combination of features available to residents in the surrounding area. There’s an acknowledgment, by taking on the expense of the move, that there is something to gain through the relocations. Interestingly, the minority population in Minnesota is the only population that has gained ground between 2022-2024. Minnesota Compass, a non-profit research group, recently released these numbers.
People of color in the Twin Cities has increased by 34,000 in two years. It doesn’t seem to indicate the concern about policing and the justice system that some in the political realm are suggesting. Quite the opposite.
In the early part of the last century, when electrification was new, a house wiring system called knob and tube was installed in many homes. It was a labor intensive process but the materials were less expensive. Where there were workers, knob and tube made sense. Wires ran between the interior walls and the outer shell throughout the house on the whim of the electrician. Without a plan, it is difficult to know which wires connect where. This becomes a drawback at time of a remodel. But the more significant drawbacks are the safety hazards due to overloading the system with electrical demands the system was not designed to carry.
This investor purchased a nine-unit building with k&t.
Not only were many units outdated, but one of our largest projects was…
— Tyler | Kenji Capital (@KenjiCapital) May 3, 2024
The fuse box looks funny because it doesn’t have the flip breakers. The cute green topped glass are the circuit breakers.
Insurance companies in our area will no longer cover a home with k&t. At least that’s the latest I’ve heard. They tried twenty years ago or so to make it a rule, yet it did not hold. There was enough demand in the market to over turn removing that option from their insurance offerings.
Lenders, federal mortage insurance rules, property insurance providers all play a role in real estate excahnges. In this way they feature in the price of property. It’s uncommon for a subsidary service to make a property unsaleable, but over the years there have been instances where property types have taken significant hits. Condos in the early 1990s would be another example.
Stubborn Attachments is a smart slim book by Tyler Cowen. He presents a decisive defense of society’s obligation to pursue economic growth. Although he expands his profession’s definition of wealth by bulking it out to include a larger scope of life. Wealth Plus is how he describes it.
In chapter five he wrestles around with some ideas about who should do what when. In order to not only have monetary wealth, it is valuable to sense that when something bad is on nigh, someone is around for a rescue. When the drowning girl needs to be saved, there must be a member willing to jump in the water and pull her out.
It’s not efficient if everybody were to jump in. She’d be saved by the sudden and dramatic reduction of the water level. Meanwhile no other jobs would get the attention they deserve. S0 how is it that the available labor will be in place when a task needs doing? When a crime needs reporting or an old pensioner needs protecting? That’s a great question.
It’s the question that begs the demand for benchmarking.
They’re called influencers when they hit soccial media venues peddling cosementic products and outfits. Pop mega-star Billie Eilish isn’t hawking commodities. She’s pushing for people to make a sacrifice for the environement. Instead of enjoying a new outfit, settle for a used one. Instead of going solo in a vehicle to her concert, pair up and carpool.
“Hit Me Hard and Soft,” Eilish’s third album, is due out May 17. For the tour, she is focusing on sustainability and is continuing her longtime relationship with environmental nonprofit Reverb, to which she’ll donate a portion of proceeds from ticket sales. She’s also encouraging fans to carpool or take public transportation to her concerts and to wear thrifted or borrowed clothing rather than purchasing new. Fans are also invited to bring an empty reusable water bottle as there will be free refill stations at the venue.
Reminding people to do their part toward a common goal is one way to advance its objective. Another is to pass a law. No plastic straws, for instance, was meant to help the environement.
What I wonder about is which of these to strategies has a bigger impact, and to what degree? Spitballing it I would guess that someone of Eilish’s stature teases out more action, probably a lot more action. It wouldn’t be that hard to measure the ridership of the audience memebers.
I wonder why there aren’t more efforts to nail down the results of some of these strategies. If a mega-star can generate more significant results than a law. Skip the bannings that no one pays attention to and hire the influencers to change the world.
Is volunteer the right word for unpaid labor? Afterall, in free societies jobs are done voluntarily as well. Carees are pursued on a voluntary basis. That’s the whole idea. You get to choose. ‘The difference between work that is done as service work, in the efforts to improve or maintain a common goal, and work done for private enterprise, is that in one instance you are paid through reciprocity down the road, and in the other you are paid in unfettered cash.
How you choose to spend your waking hours in labor or leisure, caring for your loved ones or idly reading a book, working for a paycheck or going to an NBA playoff game, are all done voluntarily.
The difference is not whether you choose to work, but whether you choose to work for compensation. In fact, you can blend the. You can work for a check and in conjuction with your passions. And do it entirely voluntarily!
I love this clip by Kyla about the housing market in Austin. Build more housing and prices moderate. Too true.
There’s another factor at play here. Austin is a new town which has experienced a lot of growth. And along with the growth, prosperity. So for folks in the area to be pro-expansion and in turn pro-housing growth is an easy turn.
In more established cities, there are networks of additional interests all meshing on top of the landscape. There were reasons why residents fought for and built out their cities following those rules. For new growing metros, the Austin plan would be easy to adopt. For more those with longer histories, it’s not the same game. Here it will take other strategies to urge continued housing growth.
Years had passed without me giving the FFA a second thought. If someone had asked, I would’ve bet money on their demise years ago, during the era when everyone talked about the death of small-town rural America. If it hadn’t been for stopping at a rest stop on Sunday, the organization would still be out of my sight.
As it turns out the two bus loads of kids who were shoulder to shoulder in line for the sandwiches were headed to the FFA Minnesota State Convention at the UMN. Three days of events starting at a very early 7:30am. The dairy evaluations were at 7:45am.
This organization is not lacking for members eventhough it seems to be lacking media coverage.
Minnesota’s 95th State FFA Convention was held April 21-23 at 3M Arena at Mariucci and at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.
Speakers, awards, competitions, workshops and sessions were some of the highlights for more than 6,000 FFA members from Minnesota attending the convention, celebrating the convention theme “Achieve – What It Takes.”
Here are some stats:
4,200 FFA members 7th-12th grade are pre-registered for the state convention. 15,000 FFA members in the state. 40,000 Minnesota students are enrolled in Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (AFNR) classes. 218 FFA Chapters in Minnesota middle and high schools. 338 Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources teachers/FFA advisors in the state
The answer to this is something like the answer Lincoln gave to the question, “How long should a man’s legs be?” Long enough to reach the ground, Lincoln said. Just so, proper city dwelling densities are a matter of performance. They cannot be based on abstractions about the quantities of land that ideally should be allotted for so-and-so many people (living in some docile, imaginary society).
Densities are too low, or too high, when they frustrate city diversity instead of abetting it. This flaw in performance is why they are too low or too high. We ought to look at densities in much the same way as we look at calories and vitamins. Right amounts are right amounts because of how they perform. And what is right differs in specific instances.
The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs
We were driving by an intersection nearby and my husband said, “I can’t see why they’re tearing down the Prudential building. It’s in such good shape.” True. The building that was the corporate headquarters for Prudential in Minnesota was only forty years old and still looked like an attractive structure. But the destruction has begun.
Although the building is still viable, it sits on 43.75 acres of land within the Hwy 494 loop around the Twin Cities. Perhaps a large corporation would still invest in a private campus of this size, but the likelyhood of a current buyer, with the money, and (perhaps most importantly) the compatibility with the structure, is improbable. Technology changes alone make a forty-year old commercial building sorely lacking.
But it’s really about the land.
In 1980, much of the surrounding land was undeveloped. There were scatterings of buildings and a few housing developments, but this was truly the outskirts of the metro area. Bass Lake Townhomes, for instances were built in 1990. The commercial strip mall across Bass Lake Road to the north was built in 2001.
Once the present use of the Prudential site changed, and the company no longer had value in it, then value became what an outside party could do with the parcel. And this is what is proposed.
There are plans for two large apartment buildings. There is a retail and a grocery. There is space for restaurants and other commercial. The pressure to release this resource from a one-site parcel to a multi-use asset is tremendous. Thus the value of the large, seemingly viable, structure diminishes to nothing.
What’s interesting to note is that Prudential did nothing to make this happen. It occured because of neighbors.
The pleasure derived from watching sports really doesn’t make a lot of sense. Yet- there’s no doubt about it. When your team wins its second playoff game- it’s a great night.
How do you put a number on historical value? A Minnesota bill is about to put a price on the ruby slippers worn by MN native Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz. The slippers, stolen twenty years ago, were recently returned to their owner following the completion of the trial last year. The FBI were tipped off to the where abouts and recovered the sparkly heels in a sting.
Now the owner plans to have them auctioned off after sending them on tour. Their estimated auction value is put at $3.5 million.
The state of MN is going to put in a bid but it’s a bit shy of the estimate.
How are cultural values calculated? A one-off item is difficult to determine. But other similar items come and go from the market. Properties, for instance, have been designated as historical landmarks.
The higher interest rates have cooled the residential real estate market a bit, which is nice because for a run of three years or so, every home that was in decent condition was selling in multiple offers. It was common for a buyer to bid on four, five, seven homes before they were the winners.
Recently at a sales meeting the manager pulled the topic out of his list of things to talk about at a meeting because some properties are still attracting several offers. The strategies the office came up with filled the large sheet of paper on the easel at the front of the room. There’s more than one way to write and present an offer to a seller.
This made me think of game theory as the purpose of the meeting conversation was to theorectically compare strategies amongst the active participants in the market. Like in game theory, agents develop a sense of their buyers valuation of the home. There are many angles to this, but given the process of considering other options, perhaps loosing out on other bidding situations, the agent shares the strategies discussed amongst the agents in the meeting, and advises the buyer accordingly.
While reading Isreal Kirzner work, I thought his concept of discovery best described the process buyers go through in the market to arrive at their home purchase. After repeated investigations into the various housing options, perhaps with breaks in between to go home and reassess the purpose of the move, buyers discover their best option and only then are motivated to pursue an offer to the seller.
I can see now that the game theory part is the setup for strategy, competition and cooperation with the seller once the property has been identified. The discovery part has to do solely with the buyers insights into which property has that added benefit that boosts the property ahead of others in accomodating their needs. It is more useful to them and their particular circumstances.
It’s funny beause often a buyer is attracted to a property for the some or all of the same reasons the seller has enjoyed it during their tenure. And that affinitiy for the same likes and dislikes encourages the parties toward cooperation.
Massive suburban mall parking lots must be one of the more unattractive features in a built environment. That’s why I like this little park so much. The city of Minnetonka installed a well landscaped gathering spot in one corner of Ridgedale Mall’s lot.
A woman walking her dog mentioned that on Tuesdays in the summer months the farmer’s market sets up in the open space.
Westminister Church has a wonderful town hall forum that hosts interesting visitors in a its beautiful nave. Today’s guest was Keyu Jin whose book, The New China Playbook, Beyond Socialism and Capitalism, was recently published. I was not familiar with this professor from the London School of Economics but the title of the talk drew me in.
After the half hour talk, Prof Jin took questions from the audience. Tane Danger, the host, looks through the cards in order to group similar topics together.
One audience member asks about the nuts and bolts of the k-12 education system in China. She responded that the party originally was responsible for education and it was free to all. But the one child policy in conjunction with fierce competition to vie for the best spots in the work force, led couples to hire tutors. A high score on placement exams guarantee economic and social advancement. Thus, in response to demand, a large industry of private education providers was spawned. This led families of limited means to expend, according to Jin, as much as a quarter of their income on supplemental instruction.
Prof Jin saw this as a negative outcome to capitalism. People’s hopes and fears for their children’s success were being exploited by a private entrepreneurial spirit.
Which brings us back to a favorite topic here at Home Economics. The theory is that certain endeavors are better suited to cooperate efforts of resource providers, while others respond favorably to incentives. In the first instance, the common goal is achieved through public governance and provisions, whether informally within a group or formally via a state structure. Public education has positive impacts from all angles in a society which is undoubtedly why it was established and is still maintained as a public good in the US.
Prof Jin provides a counterfactual. When the state fails to prioritize education, private entrepreneurs jump in and fill the gap. In her example, their success in combination with the high stakes creates an inefficiency.
From behind him Madame emerged, small and wrinkled and fierce. She considered that she had created this man out of whole cloth, had thought him up, and she was sure that she could do a better job if she had it to do again. Only once or twice in her life had she ever understood all of him, but the part of him which she knew, she knew intricately and well. No little appetite or pain, no carelessness or meanness in him escaped her; no thought or dream or longing in him ever reached her. And yet several times in her life she had seen the stars.
She stepped around the Mayor and she took his hand and pulled his finger out of his outraged ear and pushed his hand to his side, the way she would take a baby’s thumb away from his mouth.
Sue Christianson watched in shock and heartbreak as Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and she wondered what she could do to help.
Christianson, of St. Paul, was looking for a way to donate money online when she came across a Forbes article that mentioned ENGin, a nonprofit organization that pairs Ukrainians with English-speaking volunteers for free online conversation practice.
This is how she ended up helping a Ukrainian — now living in Minnesota — practice his English via Zoom or Google meet.
Mary Divine shares more about the need for volunteers.
When people have time, and they see a need, they willingly give of their time and expertise. It’s the work we do keeping a social objective in mind.
Read about it here, as Mary Divine explains in the Pioneer Press. Perhaps you can spare some time as well?
The first author of neighborhoods points out the need for self-governance.
Let us assume (as is often the case) that city neighbors have nothing more fundamental in common with each other than that they share a fragment of geography. Even so, if they fail at managing that fragment decently, the fragment will fail. There exists no inconceivably energetic and all-wise “They” to take over and substitute for localized self-management. Neighborhoods in cities need not supply for their people an artificial town or village life, and to aim at this is both silly and destructive. But neighborhoods in cities do need to supply some means for civilized self-government. This is the problem.
The Uber/Lyft conversation in the Twin City area provides material to illustrate the dual nature of transactions. Let’s revisit the players. The drivers provide a service to riders for a fee. They also use a platform which takes a cut of the fare in exchange for technology services and national branding.
Drivers left the taxi structure back ten years ago or so. And it does not sound like they want to go back to the taxi arrangement and work for a boss, but are encouraging other ride share companies to enter the market. They are disgruntled with private pecuniary measures, yet satisfied with the soical benefits and flexibility of the job.
Riders are pleased with the services at today’s pricing. Present public transit options like the bus or metro mobility are actually cheaper but do not replace the service. The groups that would be most damaged by the loss of the ride share structure, since there is no substitute, are disabled folks and those who use it to go bar hopping. The social detriment to the first group would be internalized by loss of freedom and a reduction in trips to their medical appointments. Social detriment would be externalized through outcomes from drunken driving.
Another group of riders would have an impact on local businesses and conventions. The travelers who arrive from elsewhere in the US are familiar with Uber and Lyfts through their national presence. Their apps are already downloaded on their phones and they know the drill. The travel community is worried about how removing this transit option will be externalized onto their business.
Other ride share providers have always been able to enter the market. Drivers have always been able to seek out other work at traditional taxi oulets and other types of driver opportunities like school bus driving. (There are regular job postings for this in our districy choice.) Now that Uber/Lyft’s departure may be eminent, five other platforsm are said to be interested in the market. Yet there are regulatory costs.
Uber and Lyft’s threat to leave the Minneapolis area has sparked a lot of interest from outside players. But the cost of operating a ride share business is not for the faint of heart. It costs $37,000 for a license in Minneapolis, plus another $10,000 wheel chair accessibility fee. St. Paul’s license fee is $41,000. MSP Airport requires a $10,000 security deposit and a $500 license fee.
Separately, it costs about $150,000 to secure a commercial auto insurance policy for a rideshare company.
The issue around the driver’s fare split is presented, politically, as the wealthy corporate boss taking advantage of a punch clock worker. This isn’t the turn-of-the-century, nor are we talking about a factory. And since the platforms have yet to make a profit, that visual is difficult to sustain. But this broohaha may be the trick to get other companies to enter the market and have a go. Should they offer drivers a better cut, then the labor flow will move over to the ride share platform.
— Frederick Melo, Reporter (@FrederickMelo) March 25, 2024
The key in all this is freedom. If drivers have the freedom to work as taxi drivers, or bus drivers, or drivers for ride share platforms, then they will gravitate to the best situation for their private interests, leaving the failing apps to die off. If riders find services that better suit their needs, then their business will filter over to new options.
Picking numbers and setting up a dam in the system inadvertently sets off financial as well as social repercussions without clearing them through the numerous social structures involved.
What’s interesting about this post by psychologist Kaidi Wu is, that in debunking the myth that American are solely independent and eastern cultures are solely communal, she exposes the reality that people in general act with both types of action in mind.
One of the greatest MYTHS in cultural psychology is collectivists (e.g. Asians) don't compete––they are a kumbaya/harmonious/lovey dovey bunch who prioritize interpersonal relationships, unlike those individualistic Americans who are self-serving and competitive. 1 pic.twitter.com/ikh5ZLlwOV
So the trick to organizing our actions really revolves around acknowledging which endeavors generate the best results through competition, and which ones sort more readily to a communal response.
Some of these are easy to spot. The sales of a tangible widget is best left to competition. Once the market is saturated and the object is no longer of use, resources will stop flowing in that direction. Services which save people from harm, like firefighters, are best provided by a community.
But Kaidi Wu is absolutely correct that the historically popular criticism that Americans are solely interested in the self is simply in err.
This is one of my very favourite photographs, I love everything about it. The movement, the music, I can hear it. The expressions on their faces…I could write a whole story from his alone. But I can't remember the photographer – can anyone help? 🖤 pic.twitter.com/8kyXVwXaqX
It started over 30 years ago. Steven Landsburg wrote the popular book The Armchair Economist in 1993. Through popular stories of economoc quandries and paradoxes, he challenges the long held premise of the rational agent.
Quite the opposite: Our working assumption is that whatever people do, they have excellent reasons for doing.
If we as economists can’t see their reasons, then it is we who have a new riddle to solve.
Since then the discipline has been flooded with sub-categories. There is behavioral economics, feminist economics, health economics, environment economics and so on. Perhaps there’s a thread that ties them together.
If you are buying land from an individual or a group please follow the following STEPS to avoid being CONNED.
1. Ask to see the TITLE DEED or Copy of the title deed. Then do a search at the ministry of lands to confirm who the real owners… pic.twitter.com/uLG9SLE2ly
Example of private ordering described by Anthony Downs.
The purpose of shifting services to the neighborhood level is not just to improve quality but also to encourage self-development of local residents and enhancement of their personal values. Neighborhood self-development usually occurs most effectively through spontaneous, unplanned local efforts often led by charismatic individuals. In city after city the most effective such efforts have emerged from the dramatic leadership of one or a few unique individuals who took it upon themselves to “do something” about local conditions and galvanized others into : action. Inevitably, their efforts reflect their own unique combinations of talents and are therefore difficult to replicate elsewhere.
A coalition of diverse groups, it was reported, were all coming together for a housing bill. That was sixty days ago.
(KNSI) — The Central Minnesota Builders Association is throwing its support behind a piece of legislation aimed at addressing the lack of housing and the high cost of new construction.
A coalition of housing advocates and bipartisan lawmakers joined together at the State Capitol to call for an increase in access and affordability in housing through the Minnesotans for More Homes initiative.
The bill (HF 4009/SF 3964) legalizes missing middle housing and new starter homes across Minnesota.
From the builders association to affordable housing advocates, an unlikely melange of interested parties were looking for ways to reduce housing costs. How better to lower expenses then to reduce barriers to building by rolling back the rules. This bill brought authority over what can be built where to statewide control.
Once the implications of un-zoning the neighborhood hit local communities, residents weren’t impressed. Here are some of the changes proposed.
Sets a base level for density allowed on any residential lot by right (or without needing to go through a discretionary review processes) regardless of size at 2 units statewide and 4 units in cities of the first class. If certain conditions are met, 8 units are allowed in second-, third-, and fourth-class cities and 10 units may be allowed per lot in cities of the first class.
Forces administrative approvals of projects that meet the standards in the bill language and prohibits public input in the approval process.
Limits minimum lot size requirements to no greater than 2,500 square feet for first class cities and 4,000 square feet for all other cities except for Greater Minnesota cities with populations of less than 5,000.
Requires all cities to accept Accessory Dwelling Units on all residential lots regardless of size and allows property owners to subdivide their lots by right.
Prohibits off-street parking from being required close to major transit stops and limits off-street parking minimum requirements to 1 spot per unit in other areas.
Allows multifamily buildings to be built up to 150 feet tall on any lot in a commercial zoning district.
Broadly prohibits design standards for residential development and eliminates minimum square footage and floor area ratio requirements.
The cities organized and alerted their constituents who must have followed thorugh with calls to their state representatives as the bills is no longer progressing through the chambers. I doubt constitutents will agree to handing over local property rights to the state. This seems like a heavy handed, top down approach.
So how does one encourage increased density? Why- the market of course!
A recently discovered helium reservoir in Minnesota boasts “mind-bogglingly” high concentrations of the gas that are even greater than initially thought, potentially paving the way for commercial extraction.
Resource exploration company Pulsar Helium, Inc. announced the discovery of helium stores in late February, after a drill just outside of Babbitt, in northern Minnesota, located gas deposits at depths of 2,200 feet (670 meters). Initial measurements showed helium concentrations of 12.4% — which “is just a dream,” Thomas Abraham-James, the president and CEO of Pulsar Helium, told CBS News at the time. But new laboratory readings have surpassed those results.
Normally, helium is obtained as a byproduct of natural gas production, as it accumulates underground in pockets of methane and other hydrocarbons. Minnesota is one of just a handful of locations globally where helium is known to exist without hydrocarbons — the others being in Greenland and southern and eastern Africa. These sites all feature a crust of granite rock rich in uranium and thorium, as well as a rift system that fractures the rock to expose the helium produced through radioactive decay. A dose of volcanism then releases helium atoms from the rock.
Northern Minnesota has a love/hate relationship with the extraction of natural resources from the ground. The article doesn’t address how mining methods affect, if at all, the environment.
Albert O. Hirshman is known for a treatise on the connection between loyalty, voice, and exit. What he describes is an ebb and flow in people’s actions. Whether people interact in the public sphere and use their voice to signal a challenge, or whether people remain loyal to a brand while they nudge for changes using voice in the private sphere, both possible scenarios indicate that, before leaving a relationship, most people will try to talk through change.
In a free and open society, all voices should be heard. No questions there. But some folks are more able to broadcast their voice than others. So, it seems it would be useful to have some sense of evaluating the various impacts of the topics at hand.
The possible negative outcomes of giving the societal floor, for monopolizing the social audience ready and in attendance to react with resources to causes, are as follows.
Opportunity Costs. If the airwaves are only giving voice to one group in harm’s way, then others are receiving aid.
When a subgroup is given the mike again and again, even though they represent maybe ten percent of the population, then their imagined importance seems directly proportional to the edges they tend to skate on the issues. So again, there is a misallocation of resources.
When a voice of fear is loudly promoted, then a whole generation may act in an overly protective manner.
Wouldn’t it be useful to track three items when a topic gets brought to the elevated status of statewide attention? Wouldn’t it be helpful to see the numbers of all who are harmed, or affected in some way? Does this group command more, or less the same number of resources as many others who also have legitimate claims? Are the public officials in charge of bringing forward certain voices proportional to their representative groups? Or are they heard due to their proximity to core functions? Are the restrictions placed on people in sync with the risk of missing out?
It seems that a better matrix of analysis could be done before some voices are raised above others.
The 1960s failed, I believe, partly because of unclear thinking about institutions, which it portrayed in dark, conspiratorial, Kafkaesque terms. The positive role of institutions in economically complex societies was neglected. The vast capitalist distribution network is so efficient in America that it is invisible to our affluent, middle-class humanists. Capitalism’s contribution to the emergence of modern individualism, and therefore feminism, has been blindly suppressed. This snide ahistoricism is the norm these days in women’s studies programs and chi-chi, Foucault-afflicted literature de-partments. Leftists have damaged their own cause, with whose basic principles I as a 1960s libertarian generally agree, by their indifference to fact, their carelessness and sloth, their unforgivable lack of professionalism as scholars. The Sixties world-view, which integrated both nature and culture, has degenerated into clamorous, competitive special-interest groups.
Times Literary Supplement, London, May 22, 1992
Yikes! Paglia knows how to slice and dice her impressions. And I completely agree with her analysis.
Pollution was a problem in the US in the 1970’s. Passengers would throw paper wrapping out of speeding car windows, litter blew around the curbs of city streets, and a pile of various types of debris would accumulate around waste bins that were a bit too full.
A successful public service campaign was initiated with Woodsey as the star. The tunes were catchy and were broadcast across TV. It wasn’t long and the new norm of disposing of garbage properly took hold.
Tell all the truth but tell it slant — Success in Circuit lies Too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth's superb surprise As Lightning to the Children eased With explanation kind The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind —
Adam Smith closes out Book Four, Of Systems of Political Economy, of Wealth of Nations by telling us the duties of the sovereign.
According to the system of natural liberty, the sovereign (Commonwealth) has only three duties to attend to; three duties of great importance, indeed, but plain and intelligible to common understandings: first, the duty of protecting the society from the violence and invasion of other independent societies; secondly, the duty of protecting, as far as possible, every member of the society from the injustice or oppression of every other member of it, or the duty of establishing an exact administration of justice; and, thirdly, the duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and certain public institutions, which it can never be for the interest of any individual, or small number of individuals, to erect and maintain; because the profit could never repay the expence to any individual or small number of individuals, though it may frequently do much more than repay it to a great society.
Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith
We no longer have sovereigns, but we can see those duties in our local governance. And thus we can expect citizens to evaluate each of them in turn.
One of the most stressful transistions for those who move to MN from out of state is adjusting to winter driving. And there is good reason for that. When the typical rumble of friction between your car’s tires and the pavement goes smooth, you know your sliding. If you panic and yank your steering wheel in an effort to regain control of the 4000 pound beast, you’re likely to spin. A smooth turn of the wheels in the direction of the slide, and then a sensing of rubber feeling the road once again, is the signal that the tires will grip and drive you out and on your way.
It’s not an easy move. If you’re new to the white outs, it’s best to stay home.
Minneapolis – At least two vehicles have spun out on 35W near the Lake St overpass. Responders said the overpass is iced up. 19:33 pic.twitter.com/o6H8HZNovv
The window-tax, as it stands at present (January, 1775), over and above the duty of three shillings upon every house in England, and of one shilling upon every house in Scotland, lays a duty upon every window, which, in England, augments gradually from two-pence, the lowest rate, upon houses with not more than seven windows; to two shillings, the highest rate, upon houses with twenty-five windows and upwards.
The principal objection to all such taxes is their inequality, an inequality of the worst kind, as they must frequently fall much heavier upon the poor than upon the rich. A house of ten pounds rent in a country town may sometimes have more windows than a house of five hundred pounds rent in London; and though the inhabitant of the former is likely to be a much poorer man than that of the latter, yet so far as his contribution is regulated by the window-tax, he must contribute more to the support of the state.
There have been several interesting if not colorful headlines in the news since NAR settled a lawsuit last Friday. The issue under dispute is whether the posting of the payout commission to the selling broker (the agent who represents the buyer) is a key point of collusion amongst Realtors to set fees. For historical reasons, the commission is based on a contract with sellers at the time of listing, so there is a need to advertise that amount reliably. Hence, it’s posted on an industry-supervised service.
Some people appear to believe that the agreement to not post the payout on the multiple listing service, so that all professionals in the industry may see what it is openly and transparently, is the same as eliminating half of the work the profession currently carries and half of the commission. If we say it isn’t so, and they agree not to publish it where it has always been published, then poof! it’s gone.
Here are some things to keep in mind. The profession of bringing parties to the table in a real estate transaction has existed in its present form for more than one hundred years. It has always been an open process that accommodates parties who wish to represent themselves. There is a very low bar to entry into the profession as there is a small educational commitment and a few thousand dollars in fees. There have always been people of all stripes coming into the profession and trying new models of doing business. There have been menu systems, where clients just pay for pieces of the work to be done. There have been low-fee models. There has been full access to list a home on MLS and post your fee for the selling broker. The real estate business is an open, low-entry profession in which an entrepreneur can jump in and offer any type of combination of features for any type of pricing structure to the public.
And people have. Over and over again.
The tech companies were sure they had hit a gold mine and built out a network of information services nationwide. The clients loved it and told all their realtor friends in and around 2010 that they were soon to go the way of travel agents. While we sat in their homes holding them open to the public on a Sunday afternoon, they nodded away at their future vision. While we spent entire Saturday afternoons running them through half a dozen homes, they told us they were going to order up their home over the internet and do all the paperwork electronically.
But a dozen years later more people use Realtors than at any other time in the last twenty years.
What’s interesting is a lot of people who don’t believe that there is a market (that impersonal churning of groups of buyers and sellers who voluntarily make choices) for real estate services, are pro-market. It’s hard to understand how these critics believe in all other markets but not in paying a fee for representation in one of the largest purchases the average individual makes.
There is no collusion. There is no monopoly. There are no barriers to entry. The market has continually supported the real estate profession all on its own, despite persistent attempts to challenge it. For that reason, I have no reason to believe that this will stop simply because a payout needs to be posted in a new spot.
When this building was originally built in 1910 was used to house working folks. Not the poor.
The building was designed for middle class worker housing when demand for such housing was increasing around the beginning of the 20th century. It was billed as an “apartment hotel“,… The individual units did not have their own separate kitchens; instead, residents ate from a common restaurant in the building.
It was beautifully renovated in the 1990s and is now home to 70 previously homeless people. There are onsite services, classes and workshops.
Single occupancy rooming houses were a perfectly acceptable form of housing for many years. But not any more. Norms and standards are bound to change. It’s just that when people cry fowl on affordability, they also need to acknowledge that today’s standards are apart of the the higher expense.
Let’s investigate the claim that every job should be paid a ‘livable’ wage by spending some time with a mom in the neighborhood. First off, livable is very subjective. What some people claim as a bare minimum to get by in, say, NY is a fortune to others in Ames, Iowa. Furthermore, as soon as a generation goes by, livability inevitably has upped itself on the notches of life’s expectations. But for this examination, let’s assume that to qualify as livable the wage must be more than all lower paid work.
Now to say every job ‘should’ command a livable wage is the same (well almost the same) as saying that every job that does not offer a livable wage should be eliminated. And the intent of wanting every job to pay at least a livable wage (although I can read what’s in the hearts of those who say should) is to make society better.
A mom of three kids starts her day by dropping them off at school, after feeding them a breakfast of milk over cereal. After the middle schooler catches the bus, she delivers the first one to a before-school program where a college student greets them. He is picking up a few hours of work (not a working wage) to help with tuition and later he will be sitting in classrooms getting his in-school experience. The second child is walked over to the library where a nice grandmotherly woman sits at a low table surrounded by six mini chairs waiting to start extra reading help. She is part of a literacy program paid for through grants. (She does not receive a working wage).
Then the mom runs over to Target. Thanksgiving is around the corner and there’s lots of food to buy. At the checkout, she is pleased to see her neighbor. Her kids are a bit older, so our mom always appreciates picking up tips from a mom who has just forged down the road of rearing her children. Target gets busy over the holidays and hires additional workers (not a livable wage) so that busy parents can be in and out quickly with all their supplies. Many workers like the extra spending money around the holidays and the store gives a discount to employees.
Once the mom gets the groceries put away and straightens out the scattered items throughout the house, she pops over to the Y to get some ‘me’ time. After committing to a workout routine, which keeps her sanity, she’s gotten to know some of the instructors. Her favorite is a graduate of West Point and, a mom herself, is using the work (not a living wage) to keep in shape and provide an outlet to adult relationships.
Before you know it the first round of school classes are starting to let out. Her middle school child is involved in the Scouts, and they are having a special activity with a city recreational leader, a senior adult (not a living wage) who will show them some features of the local park. She drops him off before running back to the elementary school to pick up her two youngest. Once at home, a sixteen-year-old who lives next door stops in. She is going to look after the kindergartener (not a living wage) while our mom takes her other child to basketball. The coach (not a living wage) is great, and mom played in college so she stays on to help.
Our mom encounters six workers in less than eight hours who voluntarily and willingly participate in employment that is not considered a livable wage. They are not coerced. They are not full of regret. They play an essential role in elevating the quality of life for families.
If someone had time on their hands, they could calculate the market rate of each of these services and come up with the pecuniary difference. Yet this still would not be a true reflection of the total value as the interaction between these folks serves as a clearing house of beneficial information throughout the networks they support. The mom receives no income for her work to raise her children and would be at a great disadvantage to lose these support services.
Now think of a CEO, or an accountant, or a doctor, or a stockbroker, or a veterinarian. Do they depend on lower-wage labor to do their jobs? It seems like the people who they depend on like the managers and nurses and financial services admins and vet techs are all paid a living wage.
So, by eliminating the jobs paid at below a living wage the groups that get hurt are those who also do not earn above the living wage.
Yesterday’s post revolved around Adam Pratt’s framing of the groups with a stake in Uber & Lyft’s departure from Minnesota, in his article Getting to the Big Picture on Rideshare. Today’s post tries to sort through which groups will have a thumbs up or thumbs down on their value outcome.
Pratt describes how the two tech companies were able to enter into a market and survive for a decade without making a profit.
Like some tech companies of the era, Uber was funded with billions in venture capital to allow it a path to viability. And like other tech stars of the era, that glide path lasted over a decade and allowed Uber to price its service below cost and pay drivers more than it could profitably afford.
The profit motive is important. If a private company is a going concern, then it needs to make a profit under the existing constraints. So many of the tech companies blasted through traditional ways of doing business and shut them down. Or disrupted them, as the then-popular phrase went. But in effect, only some of the new platforms delivered enterprises that ended up being profitable. And for Lift and Uber to make a go of things, part of the restraints is the objectional driver wages.
There has always been a subsidized transportation system available to the public. And this journalist, H Jiahong Pan, did a fantastic thread outlining all the options. He points out that many of them are less expensive than the ride shares. These buses don’t have routes is one of his articles about micro-transport but read his thread for all the details.
For those wondering what to do with Uber and Lyft leaving Minneapolis, Uber leaving the 7-county Twin Cities:
In effect, Uber & Lyft became a subsidized ride system for more than a decade. The consumers preferred it as it was timely and came to your doorstep. If you are blind, for instance, this can be world-changing. It wasn’t because it was cheaper. Others who benefit from the private subsidy (gift from private VC) are all those others who could have paid for a taxi, or driven their vehicle, but preferred a ride if they were going to throw back a few.
All riders will lose convenience with the departure. But those on the low-income scale will be most inconvenienced. Those on the mid-to-high income scale will replace the service with other for-hire drivers. Those who drink and drive could suffer, and cause suffering.
If anything, new information about the market should give public transit clear directions on what customers value. After all, even though a profit motive is not entirely in play, ridership is still a measure of the performance of the various public transit options. In many cities tracking of public transit is available online so riders can make their connections.
The drivers who need a full-time driver positions can transfer to public transit driving and earn quite a bit more money as well as benefits. The thing is, if they had wanted those jobs, they would have already made the switch. Most probably they don’t want to be committed to a boss and a schedule and they benefit in some way from the flexibility of being self-employed. All those who were doing it part-time just lost their part-time gig. Many side jobs are lower paid without benefits. It seems like this group, which is quite large, will lose out financially.
The politicians can tally a score in the win column. They went to bat on an issue and won. But to say they can account for a positive value in the people-over-profits net sheet is very much in question.
It looks like Lyft and Uber are leaving Minnesota- the tech company sent out a notice to all their customers to that effect. This was brought on by the biggest city’s city council who voted to set price controls for wages within their municipal boundaries. But the political backlash to this political control-grab is snapping quick and hard as it seems there are many other groups who value the service and price of Lyft and Uber.
Thankfully a journalist has written the whole kerfuffle all out from the view point of groups. (Perhaps he’s an institutionalist.) Here’s Adam Platt’s essay Getting to the Big Picture on Rideshare in Twin Cities Business magazine of which he is the executive editor.
The big picture refers to group 1, Minnesotans. He’s looking to break down not one issue, the issue that was the bee in the bonnet of the activists, that drivers (who fall mainly into group 2, first generation immigrants) fight to challenge the oppression of low wage labor imposed by a corporation. The political entity who has the elected power to carry out the move was chosen by group 3, the residents of the largest city.
But it turns out that even parts of group 3 find themselves together with other Lift and Uber riders, Group 4,in that they are poor, handicapped and disadvanted themselves. They use the service regularly as public transit does not accomodate their needs for a variety of reasons. And a group of other politically elected officials across the metro in particular, group 5, are putting pressure on the only person in the state who can intervene, the Governor, to put an end to this Marxist, but not really, tale of oppressed labor.
The irony of it all is that group 2 (the drivers) are independent contractors not wage earners beholden to a no-face factory-boss. They work when they want. They break when they want. They set their own plan. So what Adam Platt also elucidates is that the whole political play goes contrary to established structures of paid labor versus self-employment. It’s really a very interesting twist on villanous characterizations with the whole red march theme.
In all seriousness, this article is worth the read. Adam Platt lays out the details both with a historical perspective and with an accounting of all the groups in play. Analysis of these issues are never a dichotomy. And only with a sense of where things originated, and in what direction are they heading, can a proper analysis be done for a stab at the best outcome for the most people.
I was looking for a book. I knew it was on one of the bookcases skattered throughout the house. An older style bookcover, in deep red with a difficult to read title, was upside down so I pulled it toward me with the intention to right it to its proper placement. It slipped, tipping open as it reached the floor, and out slid a business card, my grandfather’s. The published date on the copy of The Essays of Francis Bacon was 1908- so I suspect this was a college book for him.
Now that my attention was diverted from my search, I took a moment to inspect the volume. I only grabbed a handful of books from his library when his children were clearing out his things once they had sold their parents’ home. My grandfather marked pages with little scraps of paper, ripped from pages of a used pad. Opening to one, it read.
The edge of the page was frayed as if had been held tight between the thumb and crooked index finger of the right hand. It’s as if the words had sprung into the readers thoughts and grabbed hold. That delightful igniting of the brain caused him to clutch the paper.
That’s why we read, isn’t it? Those private moments when the words bewitch us with their beauty or their truth. When we sit in our big comfy arm chairs and wonder how someone could say it so concisely, how someone could have read our thoughts which were not yet properly formed and put the fragments into words on paper. It doesn’t happen often. But when it does we stare at the page, clutch it, and enjoy the moment.
Municipalities serve all types of functions. There are the boring ones which no one talks about but that are all too relevent to people’s daily lives, like keeping the water turned on, the water mains flushed out and the roads in good repair. And then there are the controversial duties which everyone has an opinion about, like which polished developers should be able to build what, where. with what exceptions to the zoning codes.
And somewhere in between are the functions which are both useful and sometimes delightful. They happen right in the parks. Take a look at this photo and see the variety of services it is providing on a beautiful spring day.
There a youth in a tree instead of staring at a screen. A woman is on a bench, seated next to a man whose leg is in a cast is stretched out and leaning up against his crutch. There’s a cluster of three under the shade of the blooming Magnolia trees. There’s a two-some cutting across the open plaza. A bit further down a photographer is setting up a light diffuser. And in the foreground a lady in pink inspects her phone for any udates.
There are people at play, people in convalesence, people in a group and people passing through. There are people at work and people in communication. A park is a place where people doing all sorts of things mingle. It’s all capture here on a quick snap shot, on a sunny day, in Spring.
Cities provide core services like streets, police and fire. They often have a parks and recreation function as well. A goal here is to bring residents together across picnic tables or tennis courts. It’s to maintain a level of physical activity or leisure activities. This is also a spot where the volunteer community can step in with a lending hand. In this city their efforts are accounted for on the department’s budget pie chart.
Although, the number is really only half the total value. For what ever the value of the services provided by the volunteers, these folks also receive the benefit of commarderie and a sense of purpose through their action.
Despite the crucial role of incomes in the advantages enjoyed by different persons, the relationship between income (and other resources), on the one hand, and individual achievements and free-doms, on the other, is neither constant nor in any sense automatic and irresistible. Different types of contingencies lead to systematic variations in the “conversion” of incomes into the distinct “functionings” we can achieve, and that affects the lifestyles we can enjoy.
Development as Freedom, Chapter 4
Lifestyle contingencies need to feature their own conversion rates.
Furthermore, the need to discuss the valuation of diverse capabilities in terms of public priorities is, I have argued, an asset, forcing us to make clear what the value judgments are in a field where value judgments cannot be and should not be avoided. Indeed, public participation in these valuational debates— in explicit or implicit forms— is a crucial part of the exercise of democracy and responsible social choice. In matters of public judgment, there is no real escape from the evaluative need for public discussion.
Only a clearing across societal resources can a responsible choice be made.
I overheard an exchange between a mom, her two girls and a West Metro firefighter today while shopping for produce. It started all fuzzy and in the background, as I scanned the vegitables trying to recall what we’d be having for dinner. The request was quiet but the man with the large lettering across his dark navy jersey said his partner would be right back.
“One for my cousin too,” said a young voice. “We want to be fire fighters.” He replied with encouragement and said it was the best job you could have. That they would be great at it.
As I saw another uniform approach I pivoted to have a look at the voices. An athletic man was handing over stickers and hats for the girls in the shopping cart. The mom looked on. There were two communities here that have had some rough patches. It was so nice to see them getting on.
As we say here at Home Economic, context is important. Recently I heard the figure of twenty homes as a sweeping number with respect to an impact on a neighborhood. In order to evaluate an impact, it is necessary to know how many homes total constitute a typical neighborhood.
A standard city block with a sidewalk out front and an alley to the back generally has twelve to fourteen homes per city block. So if you were to think that your neighborhood was your block and two to the north, two to the east, two to the south, and then two to the west – you would have about 230 homes in total. In this case, twenty homes is about ten percent. If all these homes were in poor repair, for instance, this could be noticeable and have a negative effect on the outward appeal or from the street view.
Neighborhoods are quite a bit bigger than a cluster of two blocks to either side. Here’s a neighborhood map of Minneapolis, for example.
The USPS offers a useful tool for direct marketers which calculates the number of residential mail stops on mail carrier route (it’s called Every Door Direct Mail). We can use it here to help estimate the number of households by neighborhood. The first map is for the Armatage neighborhood. The number of homes comes in at 2620. Since the routes overlap into Fulton, let’s use a number of 2400. In this case twenty homes in the Armatage neighborhood makes up 0.83% of the total.
The Fowell neighborhood on the other side of town is know for having a larger share of corporate owned rental housing. Here, our USPS tool tells us that the neighborhood contains 2182 properties. Again rounding down is appropriate as the one route that runs on the west side of the cemetary is in the Victory neighborhood. Let’s use 2000 homes, in which case twenty porperties is 1% of the total.
It’s hard to see where one percent of a total number can have an effect on quality of life issues.
When a raw number gets tossed into a conversation as if it were a grenade ready to explode, always ask for context.
Remember the finding that the gender wage gap is largely a gap between married men and the rest?
Researchers at the St. Louis Fed also broke that down by race and found that result mostly directionally held up, but the effect was much weaker among Blacks. pic.twitter.com/gk60w6uvla
As it becomes more and more accepted that government is not the sole purveyor of public goods, but just another actor in the economy with private interests, how do we then determine: What is a public good?
Here at Home Economic, we find that people associate with groups of individuals who share a similar interest. We’ve laid out a landscape of action based on whether a participant works towards their own interests or towards the interests of a group project. When work is done for the in-group, then it is a public good for all its members. When an individual takes action in an exchange with an outgroup, then it is private only to the individual. For instance, an inventor may, on one level contribute toward the project air travel, while still retaining a portion of the new technology in the form of a grant or a patent.
The private side is more visible as it is often compensated in fungible currency. Thus the flow of money can be traced and counted. But how do we see the public side?
In How Innovation Works, Matt Ridley tells the tale of the first attempts at air travel. People in several countries were working on this idea and it is safe to say that the information which transpired from these activities fall in the basket of a public good. The American government supported an individual, Samuel Langely, with grants of $50,000 (quite a sum in 1903). Although he internalized these funds privately, Langley was unable to come up with the goods for a successful technology. It was the Wrights brothers, with their zeal and voluntary efforts, who launched the Kitty Hawk on that successful day.
They tried to privatize their invention through the patenting system so they would reap a pecuniary reward, but to no avail. The information necessary was already out in the public sphere with no way to reign it back in.
In The Invisible Hook, Peter Leeson tells us about Pirates. He tells how pirates commandeer a vessel and then set out on the seas to pillage and steal. He calls the boat a “sea going stock company” as the boat crew operated it very must like a firm. I would say, however, that the boat was a public good to the pirates who shared the common interest of pillage and plunder. Here’s why. None of the pirates could sell their share of the boat. The ownership of the pirate endeavor was non-fungible.
A public good maybe identified if the the only way to access it is through membership to a group. You can’t sell a favor you are owed from one friend to another. You relinquish all rights and benefits to the good if you leave the group. When you exit.
The praddle following Super Tuesday outcomes is still filtering through the various media sites. I just caught a headline celebrating another ‘first’ for this sexual identitiy group or that one. Isn’t it time to but this exclamatory statement of achievement behind us and admit that the barriers have been broken? It really isn’t that novel. Diversity in politics has become a political angle not a hindrance.
I do remember the old days. When Geraldine Ferraro ran for president in 1984 it was heartbreakingly awkward. A whole bunch of people put themselves out there in the last forty years and were public flogged before we’ve reached this point. But not that we are here. Now that every configuration of social group has taken position in every political party-
Can we take a moment to celebrate and then put the issue to rest?
Minnesotan Libby Larsen was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The 73 year old was interviewed at her home in Minneapolis near Lake of the Isles.
She sees it as “an honor for Minnesota as well.” Though Larsen’s work often takes her out of state, “by choice I’ve made my life here, and I’m deeply grateful and proud of the crazy culture that supports ideas — like no other place in the country.”
“People here really love to make music,” she said, “which is true everywhere, except that it seems to be more here with a smaller population.”
At one point in her busy career, packed with commissions, performances and recordings of works for orchestra, opera and band, she thought, “Where else could I make music? Just make music — instead of spending a year or two trying to get in the door to make music?”
You might have gotten a recommendation to always get three bids when inviting contractors over to do work on your property. This is wise for a couple of reasons.
First off, it’s common to see a spread in the proposal amounts. I’d say on average I’ve seen a twenty percent spread on quotes for roofs, garage doors, tile remodels and so on. Of course, everyone is consious of the cost of things and twenty percent is quite a bit. But you’ll notice other differences between the bids.
The second issue concerns the type of work to be done. The proposal above is quite detailed. There are measures and a sketch to demontrate spacial relationships. It has a floor drain option, and a service door pad option, and an apron. The posts from the overhang are noted and there is a suggestion to bring the patio floor out past them for a higher quality finish. In contrast, it competes with a proposal that was received by text and just gave to figures for the floor and the patio. And that figure exceeds this one with all the extras by ten percent. There were other bids somewhere in between these two.
This isn’t a difficult project, so why would various contractors want to diverge so seriously from the standard pricing? Most trades people work for themselves. They get to choose their pricing, and some feel they are worth more money. Others feel that they don’t want the work unless they get the premium amount. And they probably don’t get the work as many consumers like to check around. But that one consumer, who is in a squeeze, with a deadline to meet, might be happy as punch to pay a little extra and get the high priced guy to come at a moments notice. There’s room in the market for this.
For as many personalities there are subs. The contractors who are detailed will be appreciated by detail oriented people. The ones that keep it simple and quick will find their niche too. Some people find details irritating. Part of what the consumer wants is a good price, but they also want to connect socially with standards and timing.
The image is estimated to have been taken between 1908-1919 in the New York City. A home economics class is taking place in the kitchen of a housekeeping flat.
It was the consensus of opinion of these women that the proposed plan covered the material or mechanical side of home life. On the other hand they considered it important that the less tangibic side should be emphasized. The most fundamental problems the thinking home women today involve decisions of what to do. Many agencies are telling her how to do the various household tasks, but it is equally important to give her motives for doing them and to attach to the various duties such clear-cut standards of value in relation to all the aspects and contributions of home life that she will be helped in knowing what to do and what may be left undone. Such careful weighing of values is needed by the housewife in organizing her working time, in apportioning the material resourees of the family, and in all the choices she constantly makes that bear on the material and social well-being of her family.
Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Home Economics- June 30th, 1924
The homeless have been in the local news quite a bit lately. Tent cities keep appearing and then are dismanteled only to reappear again a few blocks away on another city owned lot. The lots are filled with uncomfortable large concrete blocks, the support groups for the homesless show up with more tents, more supplies and on it goes.
The seperation of fortunes from those who, for whatever reasons in their lives, choose to live out of doors in the cold winter climate, and those who live off the average wage in MN is dramatic. It’s hard to understand or compare the circumstances on how it all comes to be. For that reason it maybe beneficial to look elsewhere in the world for strategies to a more stable existence for these folks.
There are area of the world where whole sections of slums are in the process of ameliorating into better situations for the residents (What Squatter Cities Can Teach Us). What were the aspirations that helped drive this change? How did supporting services come into play? Who were the early adopters?
WHen there is too big of a spread from those who need institutional support and those able to provide it, the cultural difference might be getting in the way of success.
With the politicians back to work in their respective capitol buildings, news of their work starts to trickle out onto the media sites. Some topics seem so tired, others seem combative and unnecessary. If politicians feel a calling to go to bat, why don’t they put their energies to places in the world that need the very basics? Over a quarter of the world’s population still does not have piped water into their home. And more than forty percent live in places with no sanitation.
In 2022, 73% of the global population (6 billion people) used a safely managed drinking-water service – that is, one located on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination.
In 2022, 57% of the global population (4.6 billion people) used a safely managed sanitation service.
Over 1.5 billion people still do not have basic sanitation services, such as private toilets or latrines.
Of these, 419 million still defecate in the open, for example in street gutters, behind bushes or into open bodies of water.
In 2020, 44% of the household wastewater generated globally was discharged without safe treatment (1).
As a memorial to the first responders who were tragically killed last month, three bronze statues of the men will stand outside the Burnsville city hall.
People frequently make statements that, while technically true, lack the necessary surrounding context. Without this context, the claims can be, at the very least, misrepresented and, at worst, deceptive. Claiming context, however, maybe the responsibility of the the audience.
Consider an example.
During my highschool years, my family took advantage of me by giving me the responsibility of caring for a toddler and an enfant. I couldn’t broaden my experiences by participating in extracircullar activities or sports in highschool. I couldn’t earn my own money working at a fastfood restaurant. My family pocketed thousand of daycare dollars while I suffered a loss.
Now put context around the scenario to see if, as a member of a family, this claim is true.
Consider a farm family in the 1940s. People are still recovering from the great depression when thousands of farms were lost in bank repossesions. All the adults are preoccupied with the crops and livestock and feeding everyone in the household. Teenage boys sometimes leave school after eigth grade to work fulltime besides their fathers. Female family member from the old country may make the journey to help in domestic chores as an opportunity to make a new life in the US.
Consider a family in the 1970s. The women’s movement has championed women’s work outside the home. The parents have the financial capacity to put all their children through college. The also have the connections to mentor the kids about career choices and chanel their aspirations to people within their preferred industry. The children secure well paying jobs early in life.
Consider a famliy with a teenage foster child and three very young birth-children. The foster child is treated well in the household but at age eighteen is told to make it in the world by their own gumpshin.
I think most would say that the duties of the individual in the form of babysitting was matched by the duties given to her by the family in the first two scenarios. In the last scenario perhaps not so much. The point is that when a claim of retribution is made against a group, it is not possible to give an assessment until 1. the group is named 2. the context of the activity is described 3. a weighting of the benefits of being a member of the group is determined. Even then, it is often necessary to have a sense of a baseline of what social arrangements were typically acceptable for similar sets of people.
From here forward demand to know context. There is no way to assess a story without it.
Home Economics 