jasonxctf

well that's the thing. many jobs are "fixed jobs" not "variable jobs". Meaning that regardless of a company size or growth, no additional positions would functionally be added. (CEO's, CFO's, IT Manager's, etc) Now other jobs, are definitely variable jobs based upon sales/volume etc. (Customer Service, Line Personnel, Sales People, etc) A crude example... you have a company janitor. His job is to keep the office clean. Regardless of the companies size/growth/increase, that position remains stable. He's still cleaning the same space. Now if the company adds more variable workers or grows in space, then there may be a second fixed position added. But until then, nothing changes.

keep in mind though... The US Population was 226,545,805 in 1981 It grew 9.78% by 1990 to 248,709.873 It grew by another 11.80% by 2001 to 278,058,881 And it grew by another 10.93% by 2009 to 308,448,604 The US Population is 36.15% larger in 2009 versus 1981. It's certainly going to take a longer period of time, to push this bigger block back.

Be prepared... Most people will see their take home amount slightly lower in 2010 vs 2009. The reason behind this is simple. When nearly all of us got tax cuts in 2009, under the stimulus, it amounted to approximately $400 per person. Because this law went into effect 3 months in 2009, the $400 per person credit was spread out over the remaining pay check periods in 2009. (9 months worth) So the credit is still in effect here in 2010, but now it's being spread out over 12 months worth of paychecks. (24 or 26 in total) Thus you are getting a lower tax cut more times in comparison to 2009. On my wife's first paycheck, it amounted to $7/check less.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 8, 2010 -> 04:15 PM) So you are saying you think a double-dip is likely purely because the recovery has been so fast (thus far)? notice from the graph that the longest recovery cycles have been the most recent recessions. Now that may be a factor due to this chart being modeled in %'s. With a larger population you need a larger number of job additions to move the % numbers. Mathematically speaking. 2001 took longer than 1990 which took longer than 1981

who is the Amanda Bynes lover on this board??? Forgot who it is, but check out this months Maxim Magazine.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jan 8, 2010 -> 04:49 PM) I grew up in Schaumburg and while I wouldn't call it a "close knit neighborhood", the peopl are pretty friendly. House prices are in the general area of what you are looking for. My parents sold their 3 bedroom house for $350,000 about 3 years ago, before the market tanked. So, I;d imagine you could get a nice sized house with some land for around $300,000. Roselle is also a good option. FWIW, this is what you get for 300k in Schaumburg. holy sh*t. Parker Drive. I remember that street.

Grew up in Schaumburg.. its fine, most of the houses there are 20-35 years old though. If you want a newer place, probably bigger, but farther away from downtown, check out the Fox Valley area. You've probably got a 45 minute Metra train drive (on expresses) but St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, North Aurora are great areas. Out here you've got a little bit of everything. Randall Road has your "big box" retail stores, but then go 10 minutes west and you are out in the "country". You're right off 88 too, so you're a 20-25 minute drive to Naperville too.

The last time either party had this ability was in the 95th Congress of 1977-1979, when Democrats held 61 seats during President Jimmy Carter's administration. So what, the Senate shuts down for 30 years, until either party finds a way to get 60 seats?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 7, 2010 -> 07:56 PM) But, unless something surprising happens pro-Dem...if the Dems wind up with a 57-59 seat majority in the Senate, they're going to have to choose between actually taking on the filibuster or just having the government shut down for 2 years. prior to 2009, when was the last time either party had 60 seats in the Senate?

it was sad listening to Howard talk about this earlier today. I only caught the first 5 mins of his comments, but he seemed pretty shakin up by this. my guess... he and that girlfriend of his broke up, he freaked out and went off the deep end.

this should be a republicans dream. smaller government. more private investment. i hate to say, but the monopoly idea is somewhat correct. but to argue, how is it different from Comcast being the only cable provider in some area. You counter that with... you don't have to buy cable. You can do over the air or satellite instead. You don't have to park at the meters. You can park in a garage or not own a car. As for the budget holes, I think selling off of assets is an outstanding idea that we should look at the national level as well. We hear so much about budget deficits but you never really see the other side of the financial picture. The balance sheet. Maybe the US government should look at selling Guam to Japan, who knows? We spent plenty of time during our National History acquiring more and more property. Maybe we need to have a liquidation sale?

It also says that those puffer machines are $160k/each. According to the ATA there are 526 airports in the US which offer commercial/public service. Assuming that on average, each airport needs 5 of these machines (more in LAX, ORD, less in Rockford, Bloomington-Normal, etc) that means that the total cost of putting machines in their necessary spots would be $42,080,000. The current US population is 308,248,249 people. Which means that if we implemented a per/person tax of 13.7 cents, we could cover the entire cost of these machines, nationwide. Shoot double it to 27.4 cents per person to cover any costs associated with maintenance and repair.

Usage About 95 machines have now been installed in 34 airports. According to an article on the 10th of October, 2007, USA Today, the TSA had planned on installing 434 machines, however due to maintenance problems like breaking down they have halted installation and "have no plans to acquire more." [5] Among those airports where they are in place are: * Albany International Airport * New York (John F. Kennedy International Airport) * Boston (Logan International Airport) * Miami International Airport * San Francisco International Airport * Denver International Airport * Phoenix (Sky Harbor International Airport) * Portland, Oregon (Portland International Airport) * Providence (T.F. Green Airport) * Hartford-Springfield Bradley International Airport * Newark Liberty International Airport * Greater Rochester International Airport * San Diego International Airport * Tampa International Airport * Palm Beach International Airport * Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport * Los Angeles International Airport * Salt Lake City International Airport * Buffalo Niagara International Airport * Dallas Fort Worth International Airport * San Juan (Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport) * Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport * Las Vegas McCarran International Airport * Indianapolis International Airport * Charlotte / Douglas International Airport * Fort Lauderdale (Florida) International Airport * Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky Airport (CVG) * Pittsburgh International Airport While many people have complained that passing through the Puffer is an uncomfortable experience, the technology is virtually foolproof in preventing false-negatives.[citation needed] As well as having been implemented in US airports, there are also Puffer machines at the Statue of Liberty[3] (GE EntryScan3), just before visitors enter the statue itself. This is one example of the many increased security measures taken for popular New York landmarks post September 11th 2001. On September 3 2006, the Transportation Security Administration announced that it is suspending installation of the Puffer after "seeing some issues that [it] did not anticipate with the devices."

Tampa airport has this machine you walk into, it closes up, shoots a poof of air on you and then traces the air for chemicals prior to letting you through. takes an extra 15 seconds, but it beats having to take your shoes off and getting felt up by a TSA employee. now, the obvious issue here is the international flight issue, not domestic. Domestic screenings are going fine. But how the he*l do you make sure that the airport in Nigeria does everything they are supposed to do when flying to the US?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Shoppers-spe...set=&ccode= NEW YORK (AP) -- Holiday shoppers spent a little more this season, according to data released Monday, giving merchants some reason for cheer. The spending bounce means retailers managed to avoid a repeat of last year's disaster even amid tight credit and double-digit unemployment. Profits should be healthier, too, because stores had a year to plan their inventories to match consumer demand and never needed to resort to fire-sale clearances. Retail sales rose 3.6 percent from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, compared with a 2.3 percent drop in the year-ago period, according to figures from MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse, which track all forms of payment, including cash. Adjusting for an extra shopping day between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the number was closer to a 1 percent gain. Last year, the economy was in "critical condition," said Michael McNamara, vice president at MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse. "This year, it's in stable condition." A major winter storm that slammed the Northeast and shut in shoppers on the Saturday before Christmas derailed sales. But consumers appeared to have made up for the loss by shopping in advance of the storm and the days leading up to Christmas. "We had a pretty decent surge," McNamara said. Online sales were a particular hot spot, fueled by a big increase the weekend before Christmas. They rose 15.5 percent on the season, though they make up less than 10 percent of all retail sales. One worrisome sign: Merchants are facing big hurdles to lure shoppers back in January amid lean inventories and what appear to be weak gift card sales. Gift card sales are recorded only when they are redeemed. Stores count on a post-Christmas boost because of the growing importance of January on the retail sales calendar. Last year, the week after Christmas accounted for 15 percent of overall holiday sales, according to ShopperTrak, a research firm. Retail consultant Burt P. Flickinger describes gift cards as "the lifeblood" of the post-Christmas season, because shoppers typically spend more than the value of the cards. "Retailers with a disappointing December are going to need January to survive," Flickinger said. "Inventories are even too low for retailers." Karen MacDonald, a spokeswoman at Taubman Centers Inc., said a survey among its centers this past weekend showed that merchants are on track to generate on average low single-digit sales increases from a year ago, though they still have a week to go. MacDonald noted that the centers had a strong last-minute sales surge, and this past weekend, business has been strong. She added that 85 percent of shoppers are buying, 10 percent are exchanging and about 5 percent are returning items. Gift card redemption rates have been discouraging this weekend, she said. They averaged 10 percent, based on a sampling of malls, she said. In good years, those rates are anywhere from 30 to 40 percent. That confirms that gift card sales were just "lukewarm," she said. "Shoppers are seeing more value in deeply discounted merchandise" than buying gift cards, MacDonald said. Ricki Smith, 30, of Prairie Village, Kan., had no returns and was hunting for bargains Saturday at the local Walmart store. "Today, I bought mostly clearance stuff, stuff that got marked down to half-price, " she said. She added that there were a lot of leftover bath sets, which were mostly what she bought. "The Christmas area, the actual decorations, it was pretty picked over," she said. Among the hottest sectors this shopping season, according to SpendingPulse: -- Consumer electronics, up 5.9 percent, helped by flat-panel TVs, smart phones, cameras and video games. -- Footwear, up 5 percent. -- Jewelry, up 5.6 percent. Last year, jewelry sales fell 30 percent. Weaker area included luxury items, whose 0.8 percent increase came nowhere near making up for last year's 20 percent decline. Apparel sales fell 0.4 percent on top of a 19 percent decline last year. A full picture of how individual retailers did will not be known until Jan. 7, when many report December sales.

i'll also add, that a large US Bank that I work with, who re-paid their TARP funds, said that they got more applications for new business credit for new pieces of business equipment on December 21st, than they have on any other day in 2009. This business equipment could be anything from computers to forklifts, copiers, medical equipment, etc.

Congress passed legislation in 1994 stating that presidents who enter office after January 1, 1997 will receive Secret Service protection for 10 years after leaving office. Presidents who entered office prior to January 1, 1997 will continue to receive lifetime protection (Treasury Department Appropriations Act, 1995: Pub.L. 103-329). Shoot, if there's anyone who needs lifetime secret service protection, it will be Bush and Obama for 2 totally different reasons.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Dec 22, 2009 -> 05:56 PM) Yet no mention of the default rate on jumbo loans. HMMM. Housing has another leg down IMO. Rates are going nowhere but up, re-defaults are not getting better and the Fed floor will be removed soon. Housing stocks have run a long way, this would be a good area to look into for some short plays. interesting report I saw the other day, related to defaults in small business leases/loans etc from Paynet. The overall average of 30-day deliquencies was 4.22% of total accounts in September 2009. For comparison sake, it was 2.00% at its lowest point in April 2006, however the current % is still lower than any point in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 or 2003. It got as high as 6.80% in January 2002. The overall average of 90-day deliquencies was 1.40% of total accounts in September 2009. For comparison sake, it was 0.40% at its lowest point in April 2006, however the current % is still lower than any point in 2001, 2002 and the first half of 2003. It got as high as 2.20% in January 2002. Overall, according to Paynet, the 30 day mark had its largest 1 month decrease since August 2004 and its first decline in 2009. The 90 day mark had its largest 1 month decrease since November 2003. It's funny, I don't remember a "credit crisis" in 2000, 2001, etc when accounts were significantly late at rates nearly 1.5x the current level.

i think the first time home buyer % has probably been growing rapidly over the past 6-7 years. When rates were low (and still are) and housing prices were consistently going up (in the past) it was insane to rent. I remember getting my first townhouse when I was 24. I was paying the same amount as my rented apartment but now could write off the mortgage interest/property taxes and get some equity in the place. It was a no brainer. Even though the market had softened when I sold (2006), I could have still sold the house for break even and made $ due to the tax rate savings.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/November-hom...set=&ccode= WASHINGTON (AP) -- Home resales surged last month to the highest level in nearly three years, reflecting an extraordinary level of federal support that has pulled the housing market back from the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Buyers were racing to complete their sales before the original expiration date of a tax credit for first-time buyers that was scheduled to expire Nov. 30. Last month, Congress decided to extend and expand the credit to ensure the housing market could sustain its recovery. The Realtors estimated that about 2 million homebuyers have taken advantage of the credit so far and forecasts that another 2.4 million will use it by the middle of next year. First-time buyers made up about half of all transactions last month, driving sales up 44 percent above last year's levels, a record jump. Sales are now up 46 percent from the bottom in January, but down 10 percent from the peak more than four years ago. The median sales price was $172,600, down 4.3 percent from a year earlier, and up 0.2 percent from October. "Things are stabilizing," said Pete Flint, chief executive of real estate Web site Trulia.com. "There is a significant amount of buyer interest out there." November sales rose 7.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.54 million, from a downwardly revised pace of 6.09 million in October. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 6.25 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. The inventory of unsold homes on the market fell about 1 percent to 3.5 million. That's a healthy 6.5 month supply at the current sales pace, the lowest level in three years. Besides the existing tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers, homeowners who have lived in their current properties for at least five years can now claim a tax credit of up to $6,500 if they relocate. To qualify, buyers must sign a purchase agreement by April 30. Postponing the deadline could mean sales will drop during the winter months and recover in the spring. "Buyers have no sense of urgency now," said Gary DeRosa, an agent with ZipRealty Inc. in Seattle.

.290 AAA hitter, isnt horribly bad.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 21, 2009 -> 11:24 PM) Really? It's entirely possible we're better at it, we're just facing a different kind of threat. 30 years ago the KGB and the Israelis appear to have thorougly broken several CIA and FBI agents, for example. Meanwhile, the ability of the government to gather electronic intelligence has likely gone up exponentially, because there's so much more electronic intelligence now and it all runs through our wires. IRAQ

also, i'll add the fact that i live in Cong Hastert's district. Currently the seat is held by a moderate Democrat. Dennis Hastert's son (Johnny DUI) is looking to take back the seat.

yeah presidents and vp's are a different story. wonder if the majority leader from the senate gets this as well?

Foreign Intelligence