Lotus-eater

https://robbreport.com/shelter/homes-for-sale/ray-kappe-house-los-angeles-pacific-palisades-1237534042/

On the bond you bought in 7/22, you earned 9.6% for 6 months, then 6.89% for the next 6 months, and a lower interest rate each time it reset every 6 months thereafter (as inflation declined)...until today when you are earning 3.12%, which is the interest rate that is displayed on your dashboard when you log in now. The higher interest rates you received during those earlier periods is reflected in the total current value of the bond.

The total interest rate of an I-bond=inflation rate + fixed (real) rate. The inflation rate resets every 6 months to reflect current inflation (which has declined a lot since 2022 and therefore so has the total interest rate). When you buy the bond, the fixed (real) rate, which is usually very low (it has varied between 0% and 1.3% over the past 5 years), is what you get for 30 years. So you're buying inflation protection plus that small fixed rate, which is your real return. If you cash in the bond before 5 years have elapsed, you give up the last 3 months interest. For example, if you cashed in a bond bought in 2022 one year later, you'd would have received about 7.2% in interest instead of 9.6%. If you cash it in now, you'd get about 2.25% instead of 3%. So cashing it in now and investing in something else that pays more won't cost you very much. The interest you received depends on exactly when you purchased the bonds. If you missed that window and bought in November of 2022 instead of May-Oct., the interest rate fell to 6.89% (and lasted only 6 months until the next reset).

I-bond interest rates are reset every 6 months, so those high interest rates back in 2022 are long since gone. The interest rates paid on your bonds have been steadily declining as interest rates in general have declined.

That woman is living beyond her means. She makes only $2K a month and yet rents a 2 bedroom apartment. She could get a roommate and cut her housing expense in half. Even worse, she cries because she has to work 40 hours per week: "working makes me soooooooooo exhausted" that she can only rouse herself to do other housework/errands on weekends, which leaves her with no free time. Talk about the stereotypical snowflake Gen Zoomer.

No bubble bursting at the top end of market yet if this $70 million penthouse is any indication: Inside the $70 Million Duplex Penthouse at Miami’s Newest Boutique Condo Tower ROBBREPORT.COM The two-level residence takes over the building’s top floor and adds a private oceanfront rooftop to one of Surfside’s most exclusive new addresses.

I didn't offer an explanation, so you need to work on your reading comprehension. I offered a criticism of their explanation based on their own data, namely, that the trend reversed even among young liberals. They would need to show me a clear link between anti-corporate attitudes and anti-gay attitudes, which their data does not show directly and they admit it's speculation (their data only casts doubt on the alternative explanations mentioned). All you have to offer is cheap mood affiliation.

Nothing you say explains the sudden reversal of the trend starting in 2020 that the authors highlight.

I'm skeptical of their explanation. If there is more political conflict, why would young liberals scapegoat gays, who are mostly on their political side? Likewise, why would young liberals who are anti-establishment scapegoat gays in particular for their grievances when corporations support all sorts of causes (or maybe they blame the gay mafia of Tim Cook, Peter Thiel, Pete Buttigieg, etc. for the high cost of living)? (As for the explanations they reject, one main link between hostility to trans and gays is the increase in criminal attacks on both. I don't know how they address that link specifically.)

Jon-Erik (not to be confused with Sam) Hexum

I would have thought an Eagle, Johnsons, and LeBoy were the cruise terminal.

Price-to-rent ratios in Miami & Ft. Lauderdale are in the low 20s (not as high as SF or LA, which are around 35), which makes renting somewhat better than buying. Shady Pines is running a move-in special if you use discount code: Sophia.

You are too kind. Perhaps it's the holiday spirit. Me:

You can't be charged with a crime merely for having had a business associate:

You must be very fit to be able to hand crank a Model T.🤪

Kanis Kliman (@katukbabat) • Instagram reel WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM 2M likes, 20K comments - katukbabat on December 5, 2025: "Bleki jgn bgt ah...ko anjing memang..itu ko pu kk...

My preferred dinner:

You must have found something pretty amazing to prompt you to sell your husband. Hope you got a good price for him.

4 East 79th Street in Photos ROBBREPORT.COM The palatial $68 Million Gilded Age townhouse in New York City was the site of a brutal murder in 1915.

Just get a 50-year mortgage.

The Stahl House in Photos ROBBREPORT.COM The L.A. Case Study House architect Pierre Koenig designed for C.H. "Buck" Stahl and his wife, Carlotta, is now available for $25 million.

Even if your guess is correct, it doesn't undermine the claim since Shiller regards a house as primarily a consumption good like a car rather than an investment. Someone who is well-off can more easily afford to sacrifice higher returns for the sake of owning a nice house much like someone who buys a luxury car knowing that it will depreciate a lot and be expensive to maintain.

Except the data and economists like Robert Shiller (who created the Case-Shiller Home Price Index) say otherwise. According to the article: "Housing experts said the fact that it’s cheaper to rent in all 50 metros in 2025 is a broader reflection of rental and housing market conditions across the country." It's cheaper to rent on average regardless of whether you're renting a studio or a house in those areas. And while you were paying off your mortgage, those of us who invested in stocks were earning a higher compounding rate of return: "Trish Regan: "People trap their savings in a home. They're running an opportunity cost of not having that money liquid to earn a better return in the market. Why do it?" Robert Shiller: "Absolutely! Housing traditionally is not viewed as a great investment. It takes maintenance, it depreciates, it goes out of style. All of those are problems." Shiller estimated the real return on housing between 1890-1990 to be 0-1%, which is why it's mostly a consumption good, not an investment (the returns have been higher since then but still below the stock market). And it's an especially bad investment if you take out a 50-year mortgage at a higher interest rate.

Not so boring: Villa de Verano in Photos ROBBREPORT.COM The 12.5-acre Silicon Valley estate, which includes a vast sports complex, was inspired by Italy's Lake Como. It's now priced at $88 million.

It's a common myth that the real estate agents like to promote that owning is better than renting because renters don't build equity. A renter who invests the equivalent of a down payment in the stock market (which yields higher returns than real estate over the long term) and invests the difference of paying less in rent than the cost of owning (which is currently the case in all 50 of the largest metro areas) can end up better off financially than someone who buys a house.