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6 hours ago, Buffalo_Gal said:

It will be interesting to see if this number rises October 1st when the airlines plan mass layoffs.
 


 

 

Well, the next correct CBO projection will still be the first correct CBO projection.

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17 hours ago, Buffalo_Gal said:

Luring people back to work?
 

 

 

I realize this is more than 140 characters, so it will be difficult for many here to maintain attention... but read it, nonetheless:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/09/04/business/stock-market-today-coronavirus

While wage data in the United States have risen rapidly during much of the pandemic era, the trend reflects a statistical quirk. Workers at the lower end of the earning spectrum have disproportionately lost jobs, taking smaller data points out of the pool and pushing up the overall average in what economists call a “compositional shift.”

 

“The large employment fluctuations over the past several months — especially in industries with lower-paid workers — complicate the analysis of recent trends in average hourly earnings,” the Labor Department report said.

 

Average hourly wages were 4.7 percent higher in August than they were a year earlier. That is slightly weaker than the July figure, but still sharply elevated from the 3.3 percent average gain for the data series in 2019.

 

On the ground, the wage story has been complicated, based on anecdotal evidence. While some employees have received hazard pay for coming to the workplace while infection remains a risk, others have taken wage cuts as companies tried to avoid furloughing workers even as revenues sank. Employers have at times reporting raising pay to compete with expanded unemployment insurance, which lapsed in late July.

 

“A number of staffing agencies reported that before enhanced unemployment benefits had expired, the benefits motivated them to raise wages to attract workers,” according to the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book business survey for August, based on interviews from the Cleveland district. In the Philadelphia area, companies reported retaining so-called “hero” pay, while some in the Atlanta region reported rescinding salary cuts even as others made them permanent.

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this really isn't the proper thread for this, being as it is really Covid inspired but i didn't want to start a new thread. however at some point in the near future, we may need a new thread dedicated to the economic effects of Covid.

 

 is hyperinflation beginning to take hold?

 

generally your commodities fluctuate on a pretty wide price scale, however what i experienced this past week with dimensional lumber could more than likely be qualified as Covid inspired hyperinflation. i dunno, about two/three weeks ago i payed the standard price for a 2x4x8 piece of SPF, roughly $3.30 a stick.  i think it was Wednesday that sticker shock bit me as the price now is $ 6.57 a stick or 100% higher than just a few weeks ago. 

 

earlier this year, as the Covid was blossoming into full swing, mills across the country shut down. resulting in a lumber shortage, especially in pressure treated lumber. in the Spring, this is a big deal with decks looking to get built.

 

slowly the mills came back online and it is now to the point where, while one supplier might not have the exact dimensional size you need, due to demand, you can probably find what you need somewhere in town.

 

that the mills came back online without a noticeable price rise was somewhat odd but welcomed. the delayed effect of the rise,  though shocking in it's magnitude, is not completely unexpected.

 

the ripples of this are just beginning, the price of all things construction is going to rise dramatically, including new home construction.

 

hang tight and stay frosty.

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Politics 101
The Tax System Explained in Beer (pretty elementary folks)
THE TAX SYSTEM EXPLAINED IN BEER
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100...
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this...
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do..
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20". Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men? The paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share? They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.
So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.
And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving). The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving). The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving). The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving). The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving). The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man," but he got $10!" "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar too. It's unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!" "That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!" "Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!" The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible
David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics.
Looks like the wealthy might not want to fund our beer anymore, so they will just get up and leave.
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On 9/14/2020 at 1:01 PM, 3rdnlng said:
Politics 101
The Tax System Explained in Beer (pretty elementary folks)
THE TAX SYSTEM EXPLAINED IN BEER
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100...
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this...
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do..
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20". Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men? The paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share? They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.
So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.
And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving). The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving). The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving). The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving). The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving). The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man," but he got $10!" "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar too. It's unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!" "That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!" "Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!" The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible
David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics.
Looks like the wealthy might not want to fund our beer anymore, so they will just get up and leave.

 

This never gets old. 

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On 9/12/2020 at 6:33 PM, Foxx said:

this really isn't the proper thread for this, being as it is really Covid inspired but i didn't want to start a new thread. however at some point in the near future, we may need a new thread dedicated to the economic effects of Covid.

 

 is hyperinflation beginning to take hold?

 

generally your commodities fluctuate on a pretty wide price scale, however what i experienced this past week with dimensional lumber could more than likely be qualified as Covid inspired hyperinflation. i dunno, about two/three weeks ago i payed the standard price for a 2x4x8 piece of SPF, roughly $3.30 a stick.  i think it was Wednesday that sticker shock bit me as the price now is $ 6.57 a stick or 100% higher than just a few weeks ago. 

 

earlier this year, as the Covid was blossoming into full swing, mills across the country shut down. resulting in a lumber shortage, especially in pressure treated lumber. in the Spring, this is a big deal with decks looking to get built.

 

slowly the mills came back online and it is now to the point where, while one supplier might not have the exact dimensional size you need, due to demand, you can probably find what you need somewhere in town.

 

that the mills came back online without a noticeable price rise was somewhat odd but welcomed. the delayed effect of the rise,  though shocking in it's magnitude, is not completely unexpected.

 

the ripples of this are just beginning, the price of all things construction is going to rise dramatically, including new home construction.

 

hang tight and stay frosty.

 

You and I usually disagree, but I think you might be on to something.  I needed a could of 2x4x8s a few days ago and couldn’t find any at Lowe’s.  I’ll make do with scrap, but I noticed prices on other stuff seemed a bit higher than the last time I paid attention to them, and that supplies might be low. 

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19 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

 

You and I usually disagree, but I think you might be on to something.  I needed a could of 2x4x8s a few days ago and couldn’t find any at Lowe’s.  I’ll make do with scrap, but I noticed prices on other stuff seemed a bit higher than the last time I paid attention to them, and that supplies might be low. 

 

Good job Grammarian.  

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