Interesting article about what it means to be middle class in America. It examines why people that make $200,000 a year feel like they are middle class and sometimes even stretched too thin in places like San Francisco. I bet it's the fact that the median home price is $849,000, and the median homes are located in crappy neighborhoods where bullet proof vests are needed. The minimum price of admission for a home in a nice mid-level neighborhood, not in Pacific Heights or Russian Hill or other high-end neighborhood, is around $1.6 million. That's why most San Franciscans feel like poor bastards. If you don't believe, me search the local MLS listings yourself.
Results tagged “economy” from The Daily Nugget
The median home price in the U.S. fell 2.2 percent to $220,000 last month. This is the sixth straight month of price declines and the largest year-over-year decline on record. The bottom may be falling out now.
Company earnings are down at a lot of industry bellwethers and the economy is not completely back on track yet. However, CEOs are still getting paid. In the last year, median CEO compensation and bonuses still went up. Shareholders are outraged and want to stop the CEOs from getting phat rich while investors get screwed.
Online ads are making a big comeback, according to Newsweek. Even McDonalds has said that they are cutting back TV ads and investing more money on online advertising. This is great news for companies that depend on online ads, like Yahoo, one of my clients.
Despite the economy being in the toilet and the Dow closing at it's lowest point since October of last year, housing prices continue to increase. The Bay Area's average home price is $416k according to the latest report in the Chronicle. Geez, will we ever be able to buy a house?
The time it takes to find a job in this economy averages three months, but it's more like four months here in the Bay Area. I am happy to have a job in this economic climate, even if the raise was less than spectacular this year.
It seems that the country of France just beat out the State of California to become the world's 5th largest economy. California has held the 5th place spot for years largely in part to the dot-com boom and now slips to 6th place.
People link the recession with 9/11, but the truth is that the economy was heading South before the planes hit. A year later, everyone seems to agree that the events were unrelated even if the attacks made matters worse. Experts are saying that the corporate scandals at Enron and Worldcom will have a bigger impact on the economy than the attacks and I for one agree.
The market rallied up more than 5% today and it gave me hope that it will continue to go up. Now I only need the Nasdaq to shoot up 3,000 points and I'll make all of my money back (insert laughter here). A little sarcasm heals the soul. I think I'd be better off throwing up $100 Yo's at the craps table.
Bricks flew out of the most notorious of body cavities for traders on Wall Street today as the Dow recovered from a 440-point plummet to close down 45 (see story). Experts say that rollercoaster days like these mark the bottom of the market--I hope so. Although I am in no rush. The money I have left over from the dot-bomb is in a money market account and it'll stay there until I see proof of a new bull market.
I received a call from a headhunter today and it may very well be a sign that the economy is starting to pick up again. All the staffing firms in the area fell by the wayside when the Nasdaq tanked and the Silicon Valley firms started closing. Bottom line is that even if the economy isn't getting better my ego is definitely getting bigger. I have no plans of leaving my current job, but sometimes it's good to feel wanted.
