Category: News and Politics
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Trends in U.S. economic migration
I’ve absorbed a flurry of input this week from news articles, NJTV, a symposium presentation and social media discussion all on the topic of economic migration trends within the U.S. The NJCPA has taken up this issue as it relates the the “wealth drain” in New Jersey. The pattern that is emerging is that the majority…
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Investing in an economic collapse
Billionaire investor George Soros is in the news again for returning to investing word after a long hiatus. He is known for his skill in spotting risk and betting against overpriced markets. His moves are generally seen as predicting a Hillary win, a negative performance of U.S. stocks, and are and significantly gloomier worldwide economic…
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Why should you pay more tax than Donald Trump?
“Politics aside, the real question here is why do you pay more tax than Donald Trump and what do you plan to do about it?” Donald Trump further agitated critics recently by refusing to reveal his income tax details, instead hinting only that he pays as little as possible. ABC News drew attention to the issue.…
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But I’m not a moron
One of the first startling trends of this presidential election was that voters with lower level of income, education and those with a tendency toward bigoted attitudes are more likely to be Trump supporters. It was first reported in 2015 and confirmed by other polls since then. I’ve blogged about the NBC/Wall Street Journal exit…
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Sad goodbye to neighbor in the NJ Blue Acres program
The individual stories of my neighbors involved in the Blue Acres buyout program are heartbreaking. I’m not blaming the state for the program. These are voluntary purchases; no one is forced to sell. But facing building code fines and violations after Sandy, many see this as their best option. Yet I don’t see how the state’s…
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Greenspan’s latest economic warning
Yesterday Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made some sharp comments in an interview on Fox News. I got the feeling this interview was meant as a sort of ‘final words of advice’ from perhaps the most influential economic leader of our era. Two points from the interview jump out at me. First, he says…
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Trump Accounting: cooking the books at the expense of the rest of us
Details are slowly emerging about Trump’s methods of accounting that place vastly different values on assets depending on the purpose of the report. One example cited by the Washington Post is the Trump National Golf Club in In Ossining, New York: The municipal tax assessor values the golf club at roughly $15 million. Trump’s attorneys…
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Impact of Mexican/South American work force on New Jersey
I am reposting these comments arising from a Facebook conversation about Mexican and South American workers at our New Jersey shore communities that I think deserves more exposure. I have used the term “Mexican workers” without knowing for sure the origin of most of my neighbors. The language barrier and good reasons to hide the…
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Update on FEMA fraud case affecting NJ homeowners
Former insurance executive Tom MacArthur, now the elected Congressman to the Jersey shore region, is calling for Congressional inquiry into the latest second round of alleged systematic fraud by FEMA claims investigators. This latest breaking scandal in the claim review process comes a year after FEMA admitted systematic fraud in the underlying claim processing program…
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Confusing political coverage!
Some perverse personal interest in statistics and forecasting keeps me interested this presidential race. Nothing annoys a statistician more than unreliable input data. The latest news had me befuddled. Yesterday CNN put out an article saying Hillary’s acceptance among electorate has increased lately (“enthusiasm for a Clinton candidacy has grown as her chances of winning…