Barack Obama and John Boehner both seem absolutely determined to drive U.S. government finances off a cliff.� The mainstream media would have you believe that there are vast ideological differences between the two of them and that they are bitter enemies, but that is simply not the case.� Both of them say that tax increases [...]
The Economico
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
A Simple Thanks
The Transformation of Planning Best Practices by Technology
Let’s recap some of what we have learned. First, planning departments face huge challenges driven by an increasingly [...]
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STTG Q4 2012 Reader Survey
Original post: STTG Q4 2012 Reader Survey
I'm (Finally) Hiring A Property Manager
Part I
Part II
Part III & IV
My staunch reasoning has faded over the years as I've dealt with fires, floods, criminals, delinquents, vandals, harassers and even the police. I'm too lazy to link the associated posts to each of those nouns, but play around in the "property management" category and you'll find all those stories and more.
Today I engaged a property manager to take over two of my rentals - the two on the same street which give me by far the most trouble of any of my rentals. They can't do a worse job than I have been doing, and $300-$400 a month is honestly worth it to me now if for no other reason than so I can remember what it's like not to cringe when my phone rings.
More on this topic to follow, I'm sure.
STTG Q4 2012 Reader Survey
Original post: STTG Q4 2012 Reader Survey
New Rental Mortgage Closing Issues
When To Tell A Partner About Your Blog
The Best and Worst Baby Buys: 12 Months Later
Weekly Charts Updated (Superstock Investor Morning Matters)
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Monday, December 24, 2012
Hope Springs Eternal (Articles That Matter)
Secondary Sources: Oil Markets, Income Inequality, Santa-nomics
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Take Planning and Performance Management to the Next Level
As my previous posts have illustrated, innovative technologies like cloud computing, in-memory processing and mobility continue to [...]
Sorry Protesters: Your Jobs Are Being Sent To China And They Aren?t Coming Back
Did you see the huge crowds of protesters that flooded the Michigan Capitol on Tuesday?� They were there to protest two bills there were being considered by the state legislature that would limit the power of unions in the state.� Michigan lawmakers approved the bills and this absolutely infuriated the protesters.� There is a lot [...]
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How to Clean Grout and Mold Naturally
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Must Read (Superstock Investor Morning Matters)
America?s Most Popular Holiday Travel Destinations
DISNEY (WALT) CO (DIS) (Superstock Investor Stock Scorecard)
Futures Lower This Morning (Superstock Investor Market Matters)
Weekly Market Crash Indicators (Superstock Investor Morning Matters)
HMS HOLDINGS CORP (HMSY) (Superstock Investor Stock Scorecard)
PALL CORP (PLL) (Superstock Investor Stock Scorecard)
Matt Taibbi on LIBOR Scandal
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The Coming Derivatives Panic That Will Destroy Global Financial Markets
When financial markets in the United States crash, so does the U.S. economy.� Just remember what happened back in 2008.� The financial markets crashed, the credit markets froze up, and suddenly the economy went into cardiac arrest.� Well, there are very few things that could cause the financial markets to crash harder or farther than [...]
ISM Manufacturing in Contraction; Expect Conditions to Worsen
The PMI? registered 49.5 percent, a decrease of 2.2 percentage points from October's reading of 51.7 percent, indicating contraction in manufacturing for the fourth time in the last six months. This month's PMI? reading reflects the lowest level since July 2009 when the PMI? registered 49.2 percent. Comments from the panel this month generally indicate that the second half of the year continues to show a slowdown in demand; respondents also express concern over how and when the fiscal cliff issue will be resolved.ISM at a Glance
Series Data | Nov Index | Oct Index | Percentage Point Change | Direction | Rate of Change | Trend (Months) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PMI? | 49.5 | 51.7 | -2.2 | Contracting | From Growing | 1 |
New Orders | 50.3 | 54.2 | -3.9 | Growing | Slower | 3 |
Production | 53.7 | 52.4 | 1.3 | Growing | Faster | 2 |
Employment | 48.4 | 52.1 | -3.7 | Contracting | From Growing | 1 |
Supplier Deliveries | 50.3 | 49.6 | 0.7 | Slowing | From Faster | 1 |
Inventories | 45 | 50 | -5 | Contracting | From Unchanged | 1 |
Customers' Inventories | 42.5 | 49 | -6.5 | Too Low | Faster | 12 |
Prices | 52.5 | 55 | -2.5 | Increasing | Slower | 4 |
Backlog of Orders | 41 | 41.5 | -0.5 | Contracting | Faster | 8 |
Exports | 47 | 48 | -1 | Contracting | Faster | 6 |
Imports | 48 | 47.5 | 0.5 | Contracting | Slower | 4 |
Expect Conditions to Worsen
It's tough to pin this slowdown on hurricane Sandy although I suspect some will try. Others will blame the "fiscal cliff" but that theory does not have much credence either. After all, this is the 4th contraction in six months, long before Hurricane Sandy or fiscal cliff worries.
Instead, I propose global QE in the US, China, and Europe has finally played out for all that it's worth and then some. Note that export orders have contracted every month for six months, and the backlog of orders every month for 8 months.
Eventually, employment had to catch up with those trends and it did. Employment fell 3.7 percentage points to 48.4.
Production is up 1.3 percentage points but with new orders and exports slowing rapidly, don't expect that to last.
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Obama to Close "Skills Gap"; Where? How? Why is the Middle Class Shrinking? Living Wages
For example Forbes writer Rich Karlgaard says The Skills Gap Exists.
Karlgaard believes the "gap is sure to grow as the population ages and industries from health care to manufacturing are altered by technology. Outsourcing to China won?t be the answer, either. Its population is aging the fastest of all the major economies."
Vicki Needham writing for The Hill says Skills gap is hampering labor market.
Needham, citing a report by Deloitte says "job creation in the United States is hampered by a lack of highly skilled and adaptable workers whose talents don't match current job openings".
The Atlantic comments on Solving the Manufacturing Skills Gap.
Eighty percent of the manufacturing companies in the United States say they cannot find enough workers with the proper skills to fill open positions at their facilities. That's the number President Barack Obama cited, as he announced the Military-to-Civilian Skills Certification Program, in June 2012.Skills Don't Pay the Bills
"If you can maintain the most advanced weapons in the world, if you're an electrician on a Navy ship, well, you can manufacture the next generation of advanced technology in our factories like this one," Obama said, speaking from the floor of a Honeywell plant in Minnesota.
But the problem is that veterans have had trouble getting hired, as Obama said, "simply because they don't have the civilian licenses or certifications that a lot of companies require."
The above columnists express widely believed economic hooey.
In contrast, Adam Davidson, in his New York Times column, Skills Don?t Pay the Bills, precisely summarizes the problem in four deep thoughts.
Deep Thoughts
- There is no skills gap.
- Who will operate a highly sophisticated machine for $10 an hour?
- Not a lot of people.
- As a result, there is going to be a skills gap.
Davidson visited the engineering technology program at Queensborough Community College in New York City led by instructor Joseph Goldenberg whose manufacturing classroom consisted of "nothing but computers".
With that introduction, inquiring minds tune in a bit closer to some snips from Davidson.
Nearly six million factory jobs, almost a third of the entire manufacturing industry, have disappeared since 2000. And while many of these jobs were lost to competition with low-wage countries, even more vanished because of computer-driven machinery that can do the work of 10, or in some cases, 100 workers. Those jobs are not coming back, but many believe that the industry?s future (and, to some extent, the future of the American economy) lies in training a new generation for highly skilled manufacturing jobs ? the ones that require people who know how to run the computer that runs the machine.Situation in a Nutshell
Running these machines requires a basic understanding of metallurgy, physics, chemistry, pneumatics, electrical wiring and computer code. It also requires a worker with the ability to figure out what?s going on when the machine isn?t working properly. And aspiring workers often need to spend a considerable amount of time and money taking classes like Goldenberg?s to even be considered. Every one of Goldenberg?s students, he says, will probably have a job for as long as he or she wants one.
And yet, even as classes like Goldenberg?s are filled to capacity all over America, hundreds of thousands of U.S. factories are starving for skilled workers. Throughout the campaign, President Obama lamented the so-called skills gap and referenced a study claiming that nearly 80 percent of manufacturers have jobs they can?t fill. Mitt Romney made similar claims. The National Association of Manufacturers estimates that there are roughly 600,000 jobs available for whoever has the right set of advanced skills.
The secret behind this skills gap is that it?s not a skills gap at all. I spoke to several other factory managers who also confessed that they had a hard time recruiting in-demand workers for $10-an-hour jobs. ?It?s hard not to break out laughing,? says Mark Price, a labor economist at the Keystone Research Center, referring to manufacturers complaining about the shortage of skilled workers. ?If there?s a skill shortage, there has to be rises in wages,? he says. ?It?s basic economics.? After all, according to supply and demand, a shortage of workers with valuable skills should push wages up. Yet according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of skilled jobs has fallen and so have their wages.
Goldenberg, who has taught for more than 20 years, is already seeing it up close. Few of his top students want to work in factories for current wages.
It?s easy to understand every perspective in this drama. Manufacturers, who face increasing competition from low-wage countries, feel they can?t afford to pay higher wages. Potential workers choose more promising career paths. ?It?s individually rational,? says Howard Wial, an economist at the Brookings Institution who specializes in manufacturing employment.
- Companies cannot afford to pay so much that they lose money.
- Companies would rather invest in technology and robots to reduce the need for labor, than to pay workers more money
- A shift manager at McDonald's can make $14 an hour, comparable to what manufacturing jobs pay
- Union wages and benefits are a major problem
High Cost of Education
The problem is actually quite a bit deeper. Given the preposterously high cost of education in the US, students graduate from college with an expectation they need to make more than they can to pay off student debt.
The same holds true (and even more so) for those going back to school as well as those attending for profit colleges such as the University of Phoenix.
Here are a few eye openers:
Education Bubble: Student Loan Debt Passes Credit Card Debt, Expected to Hit $1 Trillion
Debt for Diploma Schemes: Debt for Diploma Schemes and the Cookie Monster Principle
Off-Balance-Sheet Budget Fraud: Budget Deficit Accounting Fraud and the Off-Balance-Sheet Student Loan Scam; Time to Scrap Entire Student Loan Program
Pell Grant Debt Zombies: For Profit Schools Turn Students Into Debt Zombies; It's Time To Kill The Entire Pell Grant Program
Buried in Debt: Subprime Goes to College; Students Buried in Debt; Who is to Blame?
Living Wage Nonsense
Keynesian and Monetarist clowns conclude that wages are not high enough. The masses lament for "living wages".
The problem is not that wages are too low, but rather costs are too high. Ben Bernanke, president Obama, union sympathizers and other misguided fools seek to drive wages up.
The results are what any rational person should expect: loss of jobs to Asia, loss of jobs to technology, prices rising faster than wages, and overall debt soaring to the moon.
Reflections on Affordable Housing, Education, Medicine
There are hundreds of "affordable housing" programs. Every damn one of them drove costs higher by artificially creating demand right up until the pool of greater fools ran out. Then, as soon as housing crashed, government and the Fed made a concerted effort to drive back up prices.
In effect, no one really wanted affordable housing. Rather they all wanted "affordable housing slush funds".
The same holds true for education and health care.
Why is the Middle Class Shrinking?
The simple fact of the matter is there is absolutely nothing wrong with falling prices. Indeed the average guy on the street would welcome falling prices. The Fed, however, says no.
The first result of Fed policy (coupled of course with Fractional Reserve Lending) is rising prices of essential goods and services coupled with falling real wages.
The second result of Fed policy was a real estate and financial asset crash.
The third result of Fed policy is reduced demand for credit (which constitutes deflation in my book).
Since the Fed never learns, we have seen reckless rounds of QE following reckless rounds of QE hoping to stimulate jobs and lending. Yet, people actually wonder "Why the middle class is shrinking"
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
"Wine Country" Economic Conference Hosted By Mish
Click on Image to Learn More
New Meaning of the Word Voluntary; Bond Buyback Balancing Act
It is yet another thing to claim something is voluntary yet tell them it is "required". The latter has happened (again), when it comes to Greek debt.
The Financial Times reports Athens banks told of debt buyback ?duty?
Yiannis Stournaras made clear the country?s four largest banks, which together hold about ?17bn of government bonds, would be required to sell their entire holdings even though the buyback is billed as ?voluntary?."Voluntarily Forced"
It was the ?patriotic duty? of Greek bankers to ensure the success of the buyback, due to be launched next week by the country?s debt management agency with up to ?14bn of additional European funding, Mr Stournaras said on Wednesday.
Yet Athens bankers appeared reluctant to be forced into a sale that would weaken their balance sheets and discourage local investors from participating in rights issues expected early next year as part of a ?24bn recapitalisation of the sector.
?The banks stand to lose some ?4bn by having to sell their bonds at around 33 cents on the euro,? said one Athens banker.
About half the ?62bn of bonds issued in a partial restructuring of Greek debt last February are held Greek banks, pension funds, state entities and individual investors.
The debt management agency is set to announce details next week of the buyback scheme, which would be completed by December 12, the day before eurozone finance ministers are due to give the green light for disbursing the Greek aid payment.
Whereas Greek banks may be "voluntarily forced" (as if such a ludicrous idea even exists) into steep losses, anyone else holding such debt sure will not be.
Once again this whole notion of "voluntary" rests on arbitrary decisions as to what will trigger credit default swaps.
In that regard, please recall that in October 2011, the labeling of labeling 50% haircuts on Greek debt as "voluntary" proved many ?Standard? Credit Default Swaps on Greece Are a Sham.
Thus, nothing really "new" is happening here. "Voluntary" means whatever the biggest players want it to mean (always to their advantage of course).
Bond Buyback Balancing Act
Bloomberg discusses this setup in Greek Bond Buyback Hostage to Below-Market Prices.
Greek efforts to ease indebtedness by repurchasing its own bonds at less than their face value depend on investors accepting below-market prices rather than holding out for an improved offer.CACs and the Balancing Act
Balancing Act
The new bonds have collective action clauses, which in a second restructuring would allow a preset majority -- typically at least 66 percent -- to force holdouts to take part, according to Gabriel Sterne, an economist at Exotix Ltd. in London. Still, enforcing the CACs risks triggering credit-default swaps and being put into default by the ratings firms to deal with a rump of bondholders, he said.
?Would it be worth the fight with the hedge funds?? he said. ?I just don?t think they would want to go there yet again.?
?If the buyback price is forced up too high, it will be unpalatable to Greece and the European authorities, and the buyback will fail,? Sterne said. ?The incentive not to participate is likely to be strong. The average value of the bonds for those that do not participate could rise sharply if there is very high participation.?
Sterne, a former IMF official, estimates that the strip might go as high as 50 cents on the euro assuming there is broad participation, compared with 24 cents if the buyback fails.
Bondholders probably will call the finance ministers? bluff, said Peter Tchir, the founder of New York-based TF Market Advisors.
?Now that the Eurogroup has made a condition out of the bond repurchase, it is almost the obligation of the bondholders to hold their feet to the fire,? he said. ?I can?t see bondholders accepting last week?s prices without trying for more.?
Got that? No one wants to trigger Collective-Action-Clauses thereby "forcing participation" because it would trigger CDS contracts. Yet participation must be high enough so the Troika can pretend the results help Greece.
Given the incentive to not participate in the offer is huge, Greek banks were told their participation in the voluntary offer was required.
Thus, we see these preposterous games yet again as to what is "voluntary" and what isn't. Moreover, forcing Greek banks to take more losses means they will again need to raise capital (a perpetual state of affairs for Greek banks).
Of course any sensible person realizes none of this will actually help Greece. Instead, it will enable huge pretending games go on a bit longer, perhaps long enough to get German Chancellor Merkel reelected, which seems to be the real issue in play, not the well-being of Greece.
Side Note on Comment System
Many people have been unable to login and leave comments. I believe the problem has been rectified.
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Futures Lower (Articles That Matter)
When To Tell A Partner About Your Blog
The Twinkie That Broke The Economy?s Back?
Can you hear that sound?� It is the sound of the air being let out of the economy.� Since the election, there has been a massive tsunami of layoffs and business failures.� Of course the company that is making the biggest headlines right now is Hostess.� On Monday, Hostess will be in a New York [...]
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Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Goal Achieved: Buying My Last Rental Property!
7 Ways to Pare Down Your Holiday Spending
Egypt (Articles That Matter)
QE III Being Priced into Markets Past Two Days
MintStyle with Rachel Weingarten: Holiday Gift-Giving Etiquette
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New Friend With a Different Perspective on Wealth
I'll call my friend Bob. Bob and I have very similar jobs and (I assume) incomes. We live in the same neighborhood as well. You would think we would have similar tastes and views. But Bob traveled a very different road than I did to get where we both are now.
Bob grew up in a middle class family in the midwest. From what he has said his parents were loving and he and his sister were provided for but there was never much extra to go around. He's worked since he was 13 years old, at least in the summers. He had many negative encounters with the "rich kids" and the "rich schools" which have shaped his perspective. He mentioned one situation where he qualified to play in a golf tournament at a local country club as a kid, but he and his father were turned away when he showed up without a collared shirt on. Other times he witnessed privileged kids head to the woods to smoke pot while he headed to work after school.
He struggled at first in college due to a mediocre public school education, but he out-worked his peers and ended up on the Deans list the last 6 semesters. Later he went on to get a scholarship to a top rate MBA program, though he still took out nearly 6 figures in debt to get that degree. Bob has worked hard all along the way to get everything he has, and he works several hours a day more than I do even though we have similar jobs and responsibilities. Sometimes it makes me feel guilty, and other times I wonder if he'll always feel he has something to prove.
Now Bob lives in Dallas surrounded by - in his view - ridiculously materialistic, entitled, overdressed, evangelical or faux-religious, small minded Southern conservatives who more often than not never had to work that hard and yet expect to be handed everything in life.
Part of his views on the wealthy are, I think, skewed by his overlapping experience with Southern culture. He was exposed to Southerners, wealthy folks, and entitled young MBA students all at once when he moved down here for school, and I pointed out that those three groups are sometimes separate and distinct. It's not just the rich folks down here who dress up for football games and church, are comfortable with what he describes as ongoing segregation, and join sororities and fraternities. Many Southerners are not actually bigots, despite traditions that sometimes exclude women (like the Masters). And as a Private Banker I can assure you that some of the most entitled preppy materialistic people out there actually don't have any wealth at all.
Most of you know my background which, while not overly indulgent, was certainly privileged. My family lived in rural Alabama without cable TV, luxury cars or designer clothes - but my grandparents provided for my private education all the way through college, and I was exposed to foreign travel and the arts as a child. I always knew how to act and was comfortable in the theater, in a country club, just as I was comfortable running around the woods barefoot, hanging out in the Wal-Mart parking lot on Friday nights and eating lunches at the Dairy Queen. In a small town the rich folks and poor folks all talk the same, go the same churches, cheer at the same high school football games. Plus I was "rich" but didn't really know it - my parents were very down to earth and didn't value materialism, as they grew up poor themselves. Though we did live in a big house in the nice neighborhood. So I kind of can see "Privilege" from both sides.
Last night Bob and I talked for almost 3 hours about all these issues. I was fascinated, appalled, defensive, and surprised by many of his opinions. He said he "simply doesn't relate" to "those people" - meaning those who wear expensive clothes and grew up with money and go to country clubs and had their educations handed to them. That's fine and understandable except that his tone and emphasis seem to go further - he seems actually bitter and even hateful toward those people, not merely indifferent (at times in conversation - not publicly of course). He seems to take pride in rejecting materialism, in working hours longer than he needs to, in bashing those who simply were born with a bit more than he had.
I challenged him to figure out why he has such an aversion to those with money, things that cost money, and places that require money. He loves golf, for instance, and plays regularly - yet he claims to hate country clubs and everything they represent. He hates those who care about expensive clothes and dress up for innocuous events, though he seems to appreciate my look just fine (not to mention that he regularly looks pretty sharp himself, as I'm sure do most of his MBA buddies and fellow bankers). He resents those who never had to work as hard as he did, but he readily admits that many of his colleagues and classmates who fit that bill are smart and normal and down to earth and deserving.
To sum up the paradox, he seems to truly dislike all the trappings of privilege and those who represent privilege as a group, but he seems to be simultaneously drawn to it and openly respects and pursues individuals who may embody all those same traits. (I mean, he continues to value friendship with me, after all, and I possess pretty much everything he professes to reject!).
Anyway we argued and discussed and pondered and eventually came to the conclusion that one's childhood experiences and a few memorable encounters can really shape strong stereotypes. He wrestles just like I did - and still do - with the fact that where he came from is a very different place, that he has propelled himself into a world of privilege and disposable income and free time to enjoy it all. Perhaps accepting too much of what his parents and childhood friends don't have access to would make him feel like he doesn't value his roots. I certainly relate to that guilt, that occasional feeling that I might be taking it all for granted.
He admits that his aversion to wealth isn't entirely rational, just as I admit that it certainly is appropriate in some ways. I mean there ARE a lot of unbearable entitled yuppies in this town. And wealth - specifically materialism - can change your values if you let it. What's important to both of us is that people can step back and analyze their prejudices and realize that generalizing isn't always advantageous. And as long as we can both do that and keep the dialogue open, I think we'll continue to get along just fine.
Five Star Movement (Eurosceptic) Surges into Second Place in Italian Polls
Hi Mish,
Here is a link to a web site that produces charting polls for Italian elections.
Click on the tab "I quattro poli". It shows a polynomial regression of the four major political parties.Top Four Parties
Just for your info, a short translation of the legenda: Centro-Sinistra is the Center-Left coalition, Centro-Destra is the Center-Right coalition, Centro is of course Center (actually it is the coalition more supportive of Monti and actually seeking to have him for a second term as PM), and M5S is the usual acronym for Movimento 5 Stelle (Five Star Movement).
As you can see, Center-Left is for the moment the clear winner and M5S has now overcome Center-Right. I still think that a stall in Senate is likely anyway (which in some way could favor Monti for a second term as PM).
The other remarkable thing is that the people declaring today that they will not vote is as higher than 40% (some polls give it close to 50%).
This weekend the primary elections of Center-left took place: Pierluigi Bersani and Matteo Renzi scored first and second and a second round will be needed to choose between the 2, as nobody reached 50% in the first round. Bersani is the current secretary of the party and Matteo Renzi is the mayor of Florence and a kind of young outsider.
Best regards,
AC
Polling data appears to be from mid-October, not June as shown on the slidebar.
A deadlock in parliament following the next election may mean re-appointment of Mario Monti but the surge for the Five Star Movement is encouraging.
For more on M5S and founder Beppe Grillo, please see Six Reasons Why Italy May Exit the Euro Before Spain; Ultimate Occupy Movement.
Main Rules for the Five Star Movement
- Not be an elected politician prior to 5 Stelle
- Commit to stay in charge for no longer than 2 terms
- Commit to take a minimum salary and give the rest back to the community
- Post a public platform on the internet
- Be willing to hold a public debate on the platform
Beppe Grillo's personal position, not a mandate for the Five Star Movement is "Get out of the Euro and default on debt".
From Andrea in the above link ...
Five Star Movement candidates have been able to get almost everywhere between 10 and 20% of votes, sometimes even more, all without a single minute of TV advertising or a single advertising page on newspapers.Mike "Mish" Shedlock
The movement has simply spread via the internet, social networks and public meetings around the country. The message sent by their success is clearly: we are fed up with this corrupted, inefficient and incompetent political class.
The most important thing for the future months is the last stance Beppe Grillo has decided to take just before elections: get out of the Euro and default on debt. This position has been strongly criticized the rest of the political class and mainstream media, but the fact that Beppe Grillo has been breaking this ?Taboo? and that there was a strong reaction by political and media environments, has finally opened the debate in Italy and has certainly made people to start seriously think about it, despite the fact that Italy so far had no financial help from the EU or IMF.
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
New Friend With a Different Perspective on Wealth
I'll call my friend Bob. Bob and I have very similar jobs and (I assume) incomes. We live in the same neighborhood as well. You would think we would have similar tastes and views. But Bob traveled a very different road than I did to get where we both are now.
Bob grew up in a middle class family in the midwest. From what he has said his parents were loving and he and his sister were provided for but there was never much extra to go around. He's worked since he was 13 years old, at least in the summers. He had many negative encounters with the "rich kids" and the "rich schools" which have shaped his perspective. He mentioned one situation where he qualified to play in a golf tournament at a local country club as a kid, but he and his father were turned away when he showed up without a collared shirt on. Other times he witnessed privileged kids head to the woods to smoke pot while he headed to work after school.
He struggled at first in college due to a mediocre public school education, but he out-worked his peers and ended up on the Deans list the last 6 semesters. Later he went on to get a scholarship to a top rate MBA program, though he still took out nearly 6 figures in debt to get that degree. Bob has worked hard all along the way to get everything he has, and he works several hours a day more than I do even though we have similar jobs and responsibilities. Sometimes it makes me feel guilty, and other times I wonder if he'll always feel he has something to prove.
Now Bob lives in Dallas surrounded by - in his view - ridiculously materialistic, entitled, overdressed, evangelical or faux-religious, small minded Southern conservatives who more often than not never had to work that hard and yet expect to be handed everything in life.
Part of his views on the wealthy are, I think, skewed by his overlapping experience with Southern culture. He was exposed to Southerners, wealthy folks, and entitled young MBA students all at once when he moved down here for school, and I pointed out that those three groups are sometimes separate and distinct. It's not just the rich folks down here who dress up for football games and church, are comfortable with what he describes as ongoing segregation, and join sororities and fraternities. Many Southerners are not actually bigots, despite traditions that sometimes exclude women (like the Masters). And as a Private Banker I can assure you that some of the most entitled preppy materialistic people out there actually don't have any wealth at all.
Most of you know my background which, while not overly indulgent, was certainly privileged. My family lived in rural Alabama without cable TV, luxury cars or designer clothes - but my grandparents provided for my private education all the way through college, and I was exposed to foreign travel and the arts as a child. I always knew how to act and was comfortable in the theater, in a country club, just as I was comfortable running around the woods barefoot, hanging out in the Wal-Mart parking lot on Friday nights and eating lunches at the Dairy Queen. In a small town the rich folks and poor folks all talk the same, go the same churches, cheer at the same high school football games. Plus I was "rich" but didn't really know it - my parents were very down to earth and didn't value materialism, as they grew up poor themselves. Though we did live in a big house in the nice neighborhood. So I kind of can see "Privilege" from both sides.
Last night Bob and I talked for almost 3 hours about all these issues. I was fascinated, appalled, defensive, and surprised by many of his opinions. He said he "simply doesn't relate" to "those people" - meaning those who wear expensive clothes and grew up with money and go to country clubs and had their educations handed to them. That's fine and understandable except that his tone and emphasis seem to go further - he seems actually bitter and even hateful toward those people, not merely indifferent (at times in conversation - not publicly of course). He seems to take pride in rejecting materialism, in working hours longer than he needs to, in bashing those who simply were born with a bit more than he had.
I challenged him to figure out why he has such an aversion to those with money, things that cost money, and places that require money. He loves golf, for instance, and plays regularly - yet he claims to hate country clubs and everything they represent. He hates those who care about expensive clothes and dress up for innocuous events, though he seems to appreciate my look just fine (not to mention that he regularly looks pretty sharp himself, as I'm sure do most of his MBA buddies and fellow bankers). He resents those who never had to work as hard as he did, but he readily admits that many of his colleagues and classmates who fit that bill are smart and normal and down to earth and deserving.
To sum up the paradox, he seems to truly dislike all the trappings of privilege and those who represent privilege as a group, but he seems to be simultaneously drawn to it and openly respects and pursues individuals who may embody all those same traits. (I mean, he continues to value friendship with me, after all, and I possess pretty much everything he professes to reject!).
Anyway we argued and discussed and pondered and eventually came to the conclusion that one's childhood experiences and a few memorable encounters can really shape strong stereotypes. He wrestles just like I did - and still do - with the fact that where he came from is a very different place, that he has propelled himself into a world of privilege and disposable income and free time to enjoy it all. Perhaps accepting too much of what his parents and childhood friends don't have access to would make him feel like he doesn't value his roots. I certainly relate to that guilt, that occasional feeling that I might be taking it all for granted.
He admits that his aversion to wealth isn't entirely rational, just as I admit that it certainly is appropriate in some ways. I mean there ARE a lot of unbearable entitled yuppies in this town. And wealth - specifically materialism - can change your values if you let it. What's important to both of us is that people can step back and analyze their prejudices and realize that generalizing isn't always advantageous. And as long as we can both do that and keep the dialogue open, I think we'll continue to get along just fine.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Smart Shopping: 8 Tips for Savvier Black Friday Shopping
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