movielover said:

---

Eastern Oregon Bear said:

---

movielover said:

---

UK inflation: Food price inflation hit 16.8% in December, with overall CPI inflation falling to 10.5%.

---

Why are you posting UK inflation rates to a US inflation thread?

---

Because we are brother nations and enacted similar economic policies: big lockdown spending and 'Green New Deal' / 'Great Reset' / WEF policies.

---

You don't understand capital markets, do you?
Exchange rates, interest rates, money flows?

"Brother" nations????
Oh, brother!!

sycasey said:

---

concordtom said:

---

Sorry, amigo.
You're a good seed!

---

The severance package is good enough that I'm basically taking a month off before really starting a serious job search (plus, for obvious reasons the market is going to suck right now). Kind of an unexpected, forced vacation for me while I figure out the next step.

---

Sorry to hear that.

sycasey said:

---

concordtom said:

---

Sorry, amigo.
You're a good seed!

---

The severance package is good enough that I'm basically taking a month off before really starting a serious job search (plus, for obvious reasons the market is going to suck right now). Kind of an unexpected, forced vacation for me while I figure out the next step.

---

Sorry to hear that! Enjoy your time off and hopefully you will find something even better on the other side. Not sure if you are willing to take the plunge with a startup but there are a lot of new and young companies out there and many will go on to be the next generation of big tech successes. We see this cycle repeat in connection with any sort of reset like this.

sycasey said:

---

movielover said:

---

Good Morning Everyone! Layoffs announced YTD:

- Google: 12,000 (6% of workforce)
- Microsoft: 10,000 (5%)
- Salesforce: 8,000 (10%)
- Amazon: 8,000 (2%)
 
38,815 tech workers have been laid off in 2023 pic.twitter.com/dN1RCD8Phe

— Genevieve Roch-Decter, CFA (@GRDecter) January 20, 2023

---

Don't I know it. I'm one of them.

---

I'm sorry to hear that sycasey

concordtom said:

---

movielover said:

---

US Existing Home Sales decrease - largest ever annual decline🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/J4LGWGRYxS

— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) January 20, 2023

---

Gee, I wonder why?
Let's see…
All time historical low interest rates finally revert to mean (or something more "normal", though still low.

Quick increase in monthly cost means buyers suddenly take a pause.

Entirely expected and reasonable.

---

It's more that sellers have taken a pause. Inventories are very low. People with a 3% mortgage are not eager to move and be in a 6% mortgage.

We are moving right now and I have 2 houses. Will be selling the old home once renovations are complete in the new home. Still, the timing (not chosen for money reasons) is not good. Hoping prices in our area can hold up a little longer.

We will also have a vacancy in one of our rentals. My first impulse was to sell because I'm running out of hours in the day. But then I calc'd the tax hit I'd take from selling. Back to renting. We will see how rents are holding up as well.

Good points!

sycasey said:

---

The severance package is good enough that I'm basically taking a month off before really starting a serious job search (plus, for obvious reasons the market is going to suck right now). Kind of an unexpected, forced vacation for me while I figure out the next step.

---

Fear not. I've found a position that is constantly looking for new talent and it even aligns with your personal values.

Tired of working for soulless corporations? Do a job that makes a difference

dajo9 said:

---

We are moving right now and I have 2 houses. Will be selling the old home once renovations are complete in the new home. Still, the timing (not chosen for money reasons) is not good. Hoping prices in our area can hold up a little longer.

We will also have a vacancy in one of our rentals. My first impulse was to sell because I'm running out of hours in the day. But then I calc'd the tax hit I'd take from selling. Back to renting. We will see how rents are holding up as well.

---

Sounds like you are in the Top 10%.
First world problems.

Good news out of Kinder Morgan for SoCal nat-gas prices.

Cleaning up in the Kitty Litter Futures Market.

I'm a Buyer at $7.99

sycasey said:

---

concordtom said:

---

Sorry, amigo.
You're a good seed!

---

The severance package is good enough that I'm basically taking a month off before really starting a serious job search (plus, for obvious reasons the market is going to suck right now). Kind of an unexpected, forced vacation for me while I figure out the next step.

---

Good luck in your search sycasey. As much as we oft times disagree, can never wish hard times on others.

It must be very stressful on skilled high-tech H1B visa workers (and their families) who only have 60 days to find another job, otherwise be deported.

This has got to be one of the stupidest labor laws that we have in this Country.

We should be doing everything that we can to INCREASE THE SUPPLY OF LABOR so that inflation can come down.
- - - At the very least, this law should be changed to 120 days.

DiabloWags said:

---

It must be very stressful on skilled high-tech H1B visa workers (and their families) who only have 60 days to find another job, otherwise be deported.

This has got to be one of the stupidest labor laws that we have in this Country.

We should be doing everything that we can to INCREASE THE SUPPLY OF LABOR so that inflation can come down.
- - - At the very least, this law should be changed to 120 days.

---

The persistent anti-immigration sentiment in this country is one of our most self-destructive aspects.

DiabloWags said:

---

It must be very stressful on skilled high-tech H1B visa workers (and their families) who only have 60 days to find another job, otherwise be deported.

This has got to be one of the stupidest labor laws that we have in this Country.

We should be doing everything that we can to INCREASE THE SUPPLY OF LABOR so that inflation can come down.
- - - At the very least, this law should be changed to 120 days.

---

How about not discriminating against American workers?

sycasey said:

---

DiabloWags said:

---

It must be very stressful on skilled high-tech H1B visa workers (and their families) who only have 60 days to find another job, otherwise be deported.

This has got to be one of the stupidest labor laws that we have in this Country.

We should be doing everything that we can to INCREASE THE SUPPLY OF LABOR so that inflation can come down.
- - - At the very least, this law should be changed to 120 days.

---

The persistent anti-immigration sentiment in this country is one of our most self-destructive aspects.

---

How are we anti immigrant? We let in over a Million legal immigrants a year; we give our top jobs to H1B Visa immigrants so that Google, Facebook, Microsoft and others can make Billions more - while we discriminate against American workers; and we are now letting in 250,000 illegal immigrants per month via our southern border.

Edit.

movielover said:

---

sycasey said:

---

DiabloWags said:

---

It must be very stressful on skilled high-tech H1B visa workers (and their families) who only have 60 days to find another job, otherwise be deported.

This has got to be one of the stupidest labor laws that we have in this Country.

We should be doing everything that we can to INCREASE THE SUPPLY OF LABOR so that inflation can come down.
- - - At the very least, this law should be changed to 120 days.

---

The persistent anti-immigration sentiment in this country is one of our most self-destructive aspects.

---

How are we anti immigrant? We let in over a Million legal immigrants a year; we give our top jobs to H1B Visa immigrants so that Google, Facebook, Microsoft and others can make Billions more - while we discriminate against American workers; and we are now letting in 250,000 illegal immigrants per month via our southern border.

---

The employment rate is high. There are jobs there for the taking. It makes sense to bring in more people to do them. Given that our birth rate is also declining as tends to happen in any wealthy nation, it is also in our national interest to do so.

For the illegals and visa holders, we should give them a quick path to citizenship so they can actually live as full citizens and not remain in the shadows. They will also be a net gain for our economy, in the long run.

If these fundamentals change at some point in the future, we can change the laws to be more restrictive again.

DAVOS WEF

Jamie Dimon says rates will rise above 5% because there is still 'a lot of underlying inflation'

sycasey said:

---

The employment rate is high. There are jobs there for the taking. It makes sense to bring in more people to do them. Given that our birth rate is also declining as tends to happen in any wealthy nation, it is also in our national interest to do so.

For the illegals and visa holders, we should give them a quick path to citizenship so they can actually live as full citizens and not remain in the shadows. They will also be a net gain for our economy, in the long run.

If these fundamentals change at some point in the future, we can change the laws to be more restrictive again.

---

Correct.
They make money.

They buy homes, furniture, clothes, cars, spend money on vacations, travel, restaurants, remodels, etc., and pay taxes like everyone else. Anyone who isnt pro job growth and expanding the SUPPLY OF LABOR in a country filled with old people (that dont spend any money) and a birth rate at zero is an ignorant fool.

DiabloWags said:

---

sycasey said:

---

The employment rate is high. There are jobs there for the taking. It makes sense to bring in more people to do them. Given that our birth rate is also declining as tends to happen in any wealthy nation, it is also in our national interest to do so.

For the illegals and visa holders, we should give them a quick path to citizenship so they can actually live as full citizens and not remain in the shadows. They will also be a net gain for our economy, in the long run.

If these fundamentals change at some point in the future, we can change the laws to be more restrictive again.

---

Correct.
They make money.

They buy homes, furniture, clothes, cars, spend money on vacations, travel, restaurants, remodels, etc., and pay taxes like everyone else. Anyone who isnt pro job growth and expanding the SUPPLY OF LABOR in a country filled with old people (that dont spend any money) and a birth rate at zero is an ignorant fool.

---

And the people who are low-skilled laborers in this generation will have children who are higher-skilled workers in the future. It's an investment.

DiabloWags said:

---

sycasey said:

---

The employment rate is high. There are jobs there for the taking. It makes sense to bring in more people to do them. Given that our birth rate is also declining as tends to happen in any wealthy nation, it is also in our national interest to do so.

For the illegals and visa holders, we should give them a quick path to citizenship so they can actually live as full citizens and not remain in the shadows. They will also be a net gain for our economy, in the long run.

If these fundamentals change at some point in the future, we can change the laws to be more restrictive again.

---

Correct.
They make money.

They buy homes, furniture, clothes, cars, spend money on vacations, travel, restaurants, remodels, etc., and pay taxes like everyone else. Anyone who isnt pro job growth and expanding the SUPPLY OF LABOR in a country filled with old people (that dont spend any money) and a birth rate at zero is an ignorant fool.

---

Many don't pay taxes. I believe the Heritage Foundation estimated the average illegal immigrant costs us $400,000, and that was 10 years ago.

movielover said:

---

DiabloWags said:

---

sycasey said:

---

The employment rate is high. There are jobs there for the taking. It makes sense to bring in more people to do them. Given that our birth rate is also declining as tends to happen in any wealthy nation, it is also in our national interest to do so.

For the illegals and visa holders, we should give them a quick path to citizenship so they can actually live as full citizens and not remain in the shadows. They will also be a net gain for our economy, in the long run.

If these fundamentals change at some point in the future, we can change the laws to be more restrictive again.

---

Correct.
They make money.

They buy homes, furniture, clothes, cars, spend money on vacations, travel, restaurants, remodels, etc., and pay taxes like everyone else. Anyone who isnt pro job growth and expanding the SUPPLY OF LABOR in a country filled with old people (that dont spend any money) and a birth rate at zero is an ignorant fool.

---

Many don't pay taxes. I believe the Heritage Foundation estimated the average illegal immigrant costs us $400,000, and that was 10 years ago.

---

Unsurprisingly, your memory fails you. Undocumented immigrants do pay taxes like sales and use tax, property taxes, license and registration fees and even social security and other payroll taxes and don't always get the benefits they pay into. Contrast that with wealthy people - like Trump - who really don't pay taxes and sometimes get millions more back than they even paid in. I don't recall you being outraged by Trump pilfering the US treasury for his personal gain over decades. Or any other massive tax avoidance by the wealthy.

The real takeaway from that research is that we run a much larger fiscal deficit from citizen households without high school degrees than we do from undocumented immigrant households. Maybe we should deport high school dropouts from West Virginia and other ****hole states since on average they cost taxpayers $35k per year whereas undocumented immigrant households only cost $14k per year.

I will give them credit for one thing - they got this right.

Quote:

---

Many conservatives believe that if an individual has a job and works hard, he will inevitably be a net tax contributor (paying more in taxes than he takes in benefits). In our society, this has not been true for a very long time.

---

Rank and file conservatives are naive and buy into the idea that education is overrated and good old fashioned work can still pay the bills.

The whole paper was pretty much garbage, like most heritage foundation work, and is really just agitprop for wealthy conservatives looking to take away entitlements and keep more of their money, even though bit was produced through the same economy that relies on foreign unskilled labor. It's a shallow analysis and doesn't take into account the benefits we receive from the labor participation that otherwise we wouldn't be able to find and would hamper our economy. With the hardline immigration stance we had the last few years, combined with COVID, we saw a significant reduction in the supply of unskilled labor which our economy still hasn't recovered from. Didn't see any discussion by heritage about labor force composition and the benefits of having enough unskilled labor to do the dirty work that lazy Americans simply won't do.

sycasey said:

---

DiabloWags said:

---

sycasey said:

---

The employment rate is high. There are jobs there for the taking. It makes sense to bring in more people to do them. Given that our birth rate is also declining as tends to happen in any wealthy nation, it is also in our national interest to do so.

For the illegals and visa holders, we should give them a quick path to citizenship so they can actually live as full citizens and not remain in the shadows. They will also be a net gain for our economy, in the long run.

If these fundamentals change at some point in the future, we can change the laws to be more restrictive again.

---

Correct.
They make money.

They buy homes, furniture, clothes, cars, spend money on vacations, travel, restaurants, remodels, etc., and pay taxes like everyone else. Anyone who isnt pro job growth and expanding the SUPPLY OF LABOR in a country filled with old people (that dont spend any money) and a birth rate at zero is an ignorant fool.

---

And the people who are low-skilled laborers in this generation will have children who are higher-skilled workers in the future. It's an investment.

---

Unfortunately, a large percentage of US citizens can't get past "What's in it for ME right NOW?".

America has enough immigration. What we don't have are enough tradespeople and we have too many unskilled college graduates.

To your point Unit2, the Red State KENTUCKY is the poster child for TAKING far more in Federal hand-outs than what is paid in taxes. They literally lead the Nation in this category. The home of Mitch McConnell.

PS. I had to put Movielover back on ignore after a brief Holiday respit. I find him to be terribly ignorant and he repeatedly speaks on topics that he knows nothing about.

Interesting article with comments by Cal's Severin Borenstein, Director of the Energy Institute at Haas.

DiabloWags said:

---

Interesting article with comments by Cal's Severin Borenstein, Director of the Energy Institute at Haas.

---

Supply and demand.

We have higher incomes so we can afford to pay more.

Call it price gouging if you will, but it is just the free market at work.

dimitrig said:

---

Supply and demand.

We have higher incomes so we can afford to pay more.

Call it price gouging if you will, but it is just the free market at work.

---

As the article states, there is less competition for retail gas stations in California.

Moreover, California has twice as many drivers per gas station as the rest of the country.
And while the number of licensed drivers in CA grew 14% between 2010 and 2020, the number of stations grew by only 5%.

The question is where did the .43 cent per gallon difference come from and why did it appear to emerge after the refinery fire in 2015 in Torrance. The refinery profit margins between California's spot wholesale gasoline and the dirtier fuel used elsewhere in the U.S. has been fairly consistent BEFORE and after this refinery fire. Thus, the refining margins do not explain this .43 cent per gallon difference.

sycasey said:

---

DiabloWags said:

---

sycasey said:

---

The employment rate is high. There are jobs there for the taking. It makes sense to bring in more people to do them. Given that our birth rate is also declining as tends to happen in any wealthy nation, it is also in our national interest to do so.

For the illegals and visa holders, we should give them a quick path to citizenship so they can actually live as full citizens and not remain in the shadows. They will also be a net gain for our economy, in the long run.

If these fundamentals change at some point in the future, we can change the laws to be more restrictive again.

---

Correct.
They make money.

They buy homes, furniture, clothes, cars, spend money on vacations, travel, restaurants, remodels, etc., and pay taxes like everyone else. Anyone who isnt pro job growth and expanding the SUPPLY OF LABOR in a country filled with old people (that dont spend any money) and a birth rate at zero is an ignorant fool.

---

And the people who are low-skilled laborers in this generation will have children who are higher-skilled workers in the future. It's an investment.

---

If today we brought in more high skill laborers and fewer low skilled, how exactly would that be a bad thing? We could skip the investment part and immediately have high skill productivity.

Just to be clear, I acknowledge we need both. But currently we are accepting a disproportionate number of low-skilled laborers (many of whom enter illegally).

BearGoggles said:

---

sycasey said:

---

DiabloWags said:

---

sycasey said:

---

The employment rate is high. There are jobs there for the taking. It makes sense to bring in more people to do them. Given that our birth rate is also declining as tends to happen in any wealthy nation, it is also in our national interest to do so.

For the illegals and visa holders, we should give them a quick path to citizenship so they can actually live as full citizens and not remain in the shadows. They will also be a net gain for our economy, in the long run.

If these fundamentals change at some point in the future, we can change the laws to be more restrictive again.

---

Correct.
They make money.

They buy homes, furniture, clothes, cars, spend money on vacations, travel, restaurants, remodels, etc., and pay taxes like everyone else. Anyone who isnt pro job growth and expanding the SUPPLY OF LABOR in a country filled with old people (that dont spend any money) and a birth rate at zero is an ignorant fool.

---

And the people who are low-skilled laborers in this generation will have children who are higher-skilled workers in the future. It's an investment.

---

If today we brought in more high skill laborers and fewer low skilled, how exactly would that be a bad thing? We could skip the investment part and immediately have high skill productivity.

---

It wouldn't be. But trying so hard to screen for only high skill people is part of what makes the process so laborious.

BearGoggles said:

---

sycasey said:

---

DiabloWags said:

---

sycasey said:

---

The employment rate is high. There are jobs there for the taking. It makes sense to bring in more people to do them. Given that our birth rate is also declining as tends to happen in any wealthy nation, it is also in our national interest to do so.

For the illegals and visa holders, we should give them a quick path to citizenship so they can actually live as full citizens and not remain in the shadows. They will also be a net gain for our economy, in the long run.

If these fundamentals change at some point in the future, we can change the laws to be more restrictive again.

---

Correct.
They make money.

They buy homes, furniture, clothes, cars, spend money on vacations, travel, restaurants, remodels, etc., and pay taxes like everyone else. Anyone who isnt pro job growth and expanding the SUPPLY OF LABOR in a country filled with old people (that dont spend any money) and a birth rate at zero is an ignorant fool.

---

And the people who are low-skilled laborers in this generation will have children who are higher-skilled workers in the future. It's an investment.

---

If today we brought in more high skill laborers and fewer low skilled, how exactly would that be a bad thing? We could skip the investment part and immediately have high skill productivity.

Just to be clear, I acknowledge we need both. But currently we are accepting a disproportionate number of low-skilled laborers (many of whom enter illegally).

---

Where are these magical high-skilled laborers going to come from?

I agree, for example, we could use skilled cobblers (ours are retiring at a fast pace). But would we really weed our fakes and rookies?

Regarding H1B Visas: we continue unfair employment practices and age discrimination against Americans, which also reduces wages. It also creates defacto indentured servants.

movielover said:

---

Regarding H1B Vusas: we continue unfair employment practices and age discrimination against Americans, which also reduces wages.

---

As far as I know the studies indicate that this does not reduce wages.

BearGoggles said:

---

sycasey said:

---

DiabloWags said:

---

sycasey said:

---

The employment rate is high. There are jobs there for the taking. It makes sense to bring in more people to do them. Given that our birth rate is also declining as tends to happen in any wealthy nation, it is also in our national interest to do so.

For the illegals and visa holders, we should give them a quick path to citizenship so they can actually live as full citizens and not remain in the shadows. They will also be a net gain for our economy, in the long run.

If these fundamentals change at some point in the future, we can change the laws to be more restrictive again.

---

Correct.
They make money.

They buy homes, furniture, clothes, cars, spend money on vacations, travel, restaurants, remodels, etc., and pay taxes like everyone else. Anyone who isnt pro job growth and expanding the SUPPLY OF LABOR in a country filled with old people (that dont spend any money) and a birth rate at zero is an ignorant fool.

---

And the people who are low-skilled laborers in this generation will have children who are higher-skilled workers in the future. It's an investment.

---

If today we brought in more high skill laborers and fewer low skilled, how exactly would that be a bad thing?

---

A lot of people complain (including people on this forum) that high skill immigrant workers compete with domestic high-skilled workers and are preferred by companies to reduce labor costs. To be clear, I don't agree with the concern whatsoever, but there are a lot of people who do voice that concern.

I described this before as a Motte and Bailey. Here, the easily defensible position is that undocumented immigration is bad and that we should prevent it. But the real position that many hold is that we should discourage if not eliminate all immigration.

I have a few employees here on H1-Bs and it's an incredibly high burden on them and us. I have a strong preference for US workers, as both required by law and due to the challenges with immigration and we don't pay our H1-Bs any differently than our domestic workers - in fact they cost us much more due to immigration expenses. We could easily 10x the number of H1-B allowances if we wanted to increase high skilled immigration, but it's a non-starter with many hardline conservatives. Here's an example of requesting a suspension of H1-Bs, using the pandemic ax pretext. Here's another example from Cotton in 2021 without the pandemic pretext. Here's an article about legislation introduced in 2018 to reduce legal immigration. Pretty hard to craft a narrative that there is a desire within the conservative movement to increase any sort of legal immigration.

Here is the proof that inflation was NOT transitory: pic.twitter.com/j8Ee7N6kYD

— Yossi Gestetner (@YossiGestetner) January 23, 2023

Why should we currently increase legal immigration when:

- we allow 1 Million+ legal immigrants
- we allow 85K H1B Visas and Masters exceptions per year
- we allowed 2 Million plus illegal immigrants in Biden years 1 & 2
- we are currently allowing 250,000 illegal immigrants per month (3 Million a year)
- the 2018 Yale & MIT study estimated "16.5 million, or as high as 29.1 million" illegal immigrants

Adding the new illegal immigrant entries, gives us this range: 23.5 Million to 36.1 Million current illegal immigrants.

https://thehill.com/latino/407848-yale-mit-study-22-million-not-11-million-undocumented-immigrants-in-us/