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[johnwise] 09/5/2024 19:20

LIVE: UK National Students Union To EXPEL Jewish Students

[johnwise] 09/5/2024 17:27

VIDEO

Trump’s friend and confidant says a ‘groundswell’ is growing for former president

[johnwise] 09/5/2024 17:14

VIDEO

“It’s Like Rationing During War Time!” British Gas Boss Says Smart Meters Should Be FORCED



Video: Mark Levin sussed the government scam
The truth about global warming

[bernie37] 09/5/2024 17:12

Shares in Issue 14.98b

[bernie37] 09/5/2024 17:12

Shares in Issue 14.98b

[stonedyou] 09/5/2024 13:53

Can You Guess What It Costs To Live "The American Dream" After 3 Years Of Inflation Under Joe Biden?

BY TYLER DURDEN

THURSDAY, MAY 09, 2024 - 12:45 PM

Authored by Michael Snyder via The End of The American Dream blog,

If you are like most Americans, the cost of living has been going up much faster than your income has been. Right now, millions of Americans that were once prospering are now deeply struggling. When I was growing up, most of the population could afford to live “the American Dream”, but now that is no longer true. At this point, the basics of a middle class lifestyle are out of reach for most Americans. Poverty and homelessness are steadily rising, and the economy has become the number one issue during this election cycle. Most of us just want things to go back to the way that they once were, but thanks to the very foolish decisions of our leaders that simply is not possible.

According to a brand new report that was just released, it now takes over $100,000 a year for the typical family to live “the American Dream” in all 50 states, and in 29 of those states it actually takes over $150,000 a year…

A household would have to spend more than $150,000 a year to live the dream in 29 of the 50 states, according to an analysis published in April by the personal finance site GOBankingRates.

According to the report, the optimal American lifestyle would cost $137,842 a year in Ohio, $147,535 in Texas, $159,932 in Florida, $194,067 in New York and $245,723 in California.

I had no idea that the cost of living “the American Dream” had gotten that high.

Illinois was ranked 26th on that list, and so it provides a pretty good snapshot of what the average U.S. household is facing right now…

Median home price: $255,278

Annual childcare costs: $24,174

Annual mortgage costs: $21,401

Car costs: $8,709

Grocery costs: $8,143

Healthcare costs: $7,021

Utilities costs: $5,278

Education costs: $2,475

Pet costs: $1,170

Total annual costs: $78,369

Full cost of the American Dream: $156,739

Did your household bring in at least $150,000 last year?

If not, living “the American Dream” would not be possible for you in most states.

Needless to say, the vast majority of U.S. households are not bringing in that kind of income.

Last December, Investopedia issued a report that concluded that it now takes 3.4 million dollars to live “the American Dream” for an entire lifetime…

Another report, released in December by the financial media site Investopedia, estimates what the American Dream costs across an entire lifetime: $3.4 million.

That is a staggering sum, Investopedia observes, considering what the average American earns in a lifetime: about $2.3 million.

Housing costs are the number one reason why “the American Dream” is now out of reach for most of the U.S. population.

During the pandemic, home prices shot up at an absolutely frightening pace…

The median sale price for an existing home rose more than 40% between early 2020 and mid-2022, topping out at a seasonal peak just over $400,000, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Meanwhile, mortgage rates have risen to very painful levels.

The average rate on a 30 year fixed mortgage was sitting at just over 3 percent at the beginning of 2022.

Today, it is sitting at more than 7.2 percent…

Mortgage rates climbed again this week, exacerbating the home affordability crisis that is stifling the housing market.

Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage jumped to 7.22% this week from 7.17% last week. The average rate on a 30-year loan was 6.39% a year ago.

The monthly payment on a 30 year fixed mortgage at 7.2 percent for a $400,000 home would be $2,715 a month.

Who can afford that?

Some people can.

But most of the population cannot.

That helps to explain why the percentage of renters that believe that they will someday be able to afford to purchase a home has dropped to an all-time low…

The dream of home ownership has gotten even further away for renters, with higher housing costs and elevated interest rates standing in the way of the American housing dream, according to a New York Federal Reserve survey released Monday.

The share of renters as of February who possess hopes of “residential mobility,” or the belief from renters that they one day will be able to afford a home, fell to a record low 13.4% in the central bank’s annual housing survey for 2024.

That’s down from 15% in 2023 and well off the 20.8% series high back in 2014.

If they work hard and do the right things, most Americans just want to be able to provide a nice life for themselves and their families.

But during the Biden years that has become increasingly difficult to do.

As a result, the amount of confidence that the American people have in Joe Biden has plummeted…

In a Gallup poll published on Monday, only 38% of Americans said they still had confidence in Biden to lead the country and do the right thing for America’s economy. This figure is among the lowest Gallup has measured for any president since George W. Bush took office in 2001, Gallup reported.

“With Americans less optimistic about the state of the U.S. economy than they have been in recent months and concern about inflation persisting, their confidence in President Joe Biden to recommend or do the right thing for the economy is among the lowest Gallup has measured for any president since 2001,” Gallup reported.

The current low for Biden continues a substantial fall from when he first took office. As recently as 2022, the same poll found Biden’s confidence ratings were at 57%. It swiftly fell to 40% and has remained below that mark since.

I believe that this is going to be a very tumultuous election season.

And I am convinced that we will see even more chaos after the election than we will before it.

The American people desperately want change.

But instead, things just continue to get even worse month after month.

Decades of very foolish decisions have brought us to this point, and trying to turn this ship around is not going to be easy

[johnwise] 09/5/2024 13:40

Trouble for Jeff Bezos’ Super Sailing Yacht? | Zuckerberg's Yacht In US

eSysman SuperYachts
Video 1 month ago

[johnwise] 09/5/2024 10:00

Mortgage arrears and possessions Q1 2024

UK Finance today releases its latest mortgage arrears and possessions data for Q1 2024, while highlighting continuing lender support for customers

[johnwise] 09/5/2024 08:24

Tesco and Morrison supermarkets still have lots of inflation?

Bank of England expected to wait for more evidence that inflation is under control before rate cut

[johnwise] 09/5/2024 08:22

Madness of our worship of wind:

They despoil our glorious countryside, add £6 billion a year to our household bills and are arguably the most inefficient solution to our energy crisis. So why is the Government planning to make it even easier to build them?

[efoxo] 09/5/2024 08:10

I live in area served by Octopus's 'Fan Club'. We get 20% off our electricity when the blades on a local wind turbine are spinning, 50% when the wind is over a certain speed. We use their forecast and app notifications to decide when to do the washing etc. Saves £30 - £40 a month. I'm hopeful it's a bit of an experiment that'll be rolled out further and by other suppliers. Everything you say makes a lot of sense and with a few minor changes to our lifestyle we could make a big difference.

[fireplace22] 09/5/2024 08:07

'Overall, 23% of those with smart meters told us they’d had one or more problems with them in the last year. Of those who reported a problem, 41% said their energy company wasn't automatically receiving readings.'

Mine hasn't worked for 4 years no effort been made by the energy co to repair/replace it.

[johnwise] 09/5/2024 07:54

The Hamas wing of the Whitehouse Update:

The Biden admin is tying Israel's hands: GOP lawmaker

Video

[johnwise] 09/5/2024 07:51

Steve73

Been hassling me for years.

All part of the Global Warming SCAM

Point blank refused to have a smart meter. British Gas send me an email asking for my readings, I send the readings & by the afternoon I have my bills.The only benefit is to the utility companies who save money on meter readers and of course can switch off your supply remotely if you dont pay the bill..

[johnwise] 09/5/2024 07:05

SHOCKING Video of the Top US Economic Advisor Jared Bernstein Reveals the Truth

"Just print money to solve all of the problems"

[steve73] 09/5/2024 07:05

If smart meters are operated correctly (by the energy suppliers) such that domestic users are charged proportionately to the generators unit prices which vary by demand every 30 minutes, there could be some significant savings to be made.

By avoiding high power appliances (washing machines, tumble driers, dishwashers, etc) during peak times, and only using them during low demand periods (sometimes even at negative cost to better balance the overall load), it should be possible to make significant savings on electricity bills.

But this does rely on the suppliers offering attractive prices, rather than gouging the customers.... but by encouraging "peak-shaving", the total costs for the suppliers will drop overall, allowing saving to be passed on to ALL customers.

If you have solar PV, and/or battery storage (incl. an EV), then it should possible to optimise further... by supplying to the grid from your local storage at peak times, and then recharging from the grid when demand drops, eg. at night.

Consumers who "can't be bothered" to optimise their usage will undoubtedly end up using more at peak times, and therefore may incur higher overall costs..

And think of all the additional usage "data" that will be collected by the suppliers... surely there'll be some additional value in selling that as well....!!! /sarc.

[johnwise] 09/5/2024 06:52

Housebuilding set to plummet to lowest level in a decade

The number of new homes being built will fall to the lowest level for a decade by the end of the year, according to Savills.

[johnwise] 09/5/2024 06:06

It's beyond me why anyone wants or needs a so called smart meter..

Essential services like energy, water, transport and infrastructure are too important to be left in the hands of greedy and often incompetent private sector operators. They will ALWAYS put profit, share dividends, executive pay and bonuses before service to the public.

China uses a lot of "forced"

British Gas boss says all UK households should be forced to fit smart meters