$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', 'B')ut employees have little loyalty these days. If you spend thousands of dollars training them and they disappear the minute they have their certifications, where does that leave the employer?
It makes more sense to outsource the cost of training to someone else and then select from the best. The problem works both ways.
PeakOil is You
US wage earners make less now than 10 years ago
Re: US wage earners make less now than 10 years ago
by Snowrunner » Mon 14 Sep 2009, 02:17:22
I think that started on the business side of things when they rename "Personell" into "Human Resources" and started treating people like something they can use up.
When the "hiring and firing" on demand started people soon picked up on that as well and started to look for their own best interest.
Loyalty would have to cut both ways, but I think after 20 years of this there is no trust left, much less do I currently see a basis for this to change anytime soon.
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Re: US wage earners make less now than 10 years ago
by Roy » Mon 14 Sep 2009, 08:31:48
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')ctually you should be thankful for the H1B program.
Actually I think you are full of bologna. Why should I be thankful for some Indian or Chinese PhDs that will work for $30k per year (like they did at the university where I was formerly employed)?
So they can undercut me as I try to earn a living wage?
If I was a capital owning person I would be thankful because I could maximize my profits by capitalizing on labor spreads.
If I have to work for a living, it makes me feel betrayed by the capital owner and the government who allows this type of thing.
Since most people are the latter and not the former (workers not owners), I don't think you'll find a whole l that would agree with you. I certainly don't. Perhaps you would also like to tell us how great free-trade-globalism is for the US economy and all of us who participate in it, as well?
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Re: US wage earners make less now than 10 years ago
by MarkJ » Mon 14 Sep 2009, 09:03:35
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Auntie_Cipation', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MarkJ', 'I')'ve doubled many of my residential/commercial rents and leases in the last ten years as well.
I would've expected rents to rise while real estate prices were rising, and then to continue rising (or remain steady) while real estate peaked and began dropping, but within 2-3 years of real estate starting to decline I would have expected rents to start dropping as well (as good tenants become harder to find due to more affordable purchase prices). Maybe because of the credit crunch people can not afford to switch from renting to buying on the lowered costs alone -- they are still having trouble getting mortgages.
Comments, Mark? What have you seen along these lines in your area (if I recall you're in a wealthy area, but you must have an idea of how the market is going in the broader region in this regard)?
Rents in my home regions have been rising steadily for the last decade, but I've kept my rents below average for above average places since I own my properties outright and don't like tenant turnover. Sometimes I've waited too long to raise rents, which leads to rent increase shock.
Due to the incredible growth of luxury apartments and condos in the Saratoga region, the region is fast becoming an upscale renter culture. Many people are looking at condos vs housing due to the condo tax break as well. Many qualified buyers are also renting vs buying. I have many tenants that are qualified buyers, but they've been sitting on the sidelines for years waiting for the killer deal. Some of these buyers are fussy, fussy, fussy. Many have looked at hundreds of homes, but they're still haven't found the killer deal.
Property values outside the Saratoga region are much lower, but rents are still quite high since property taxes are very high, plus there are fewer apartments for rent due to landlords exiting the business, landlord foreclosure and vacant or abandoned rentals. For example, one local city where I used to own 30 units often averaged well over 100 units for rent in in the 90s. Currently they average maybe 20 to 30 units in the paper. For sale signs dot the streets like picket fences and there are literally hundreds of vacant/abandoned homes or rentals. These regions have also lost many homes, mobile home parks, building lots, acreage and farmland to investors, commercial and residential development. The numerous $1,000 plus per month apartments in Saratoga just aren't affordable to the working class, especially since many are unemployed.
Many of the cheaper rentals really aren't cheaper since many of these large uninsulated/poorly insulated 1800s to early 1900s structures with single pane windows and 50 plus year old heating systems cost a small fortune to heat, plus they generally don't include heat and hot water. They're only cheaper to rent if the tenants receive heating subsidies like HEAP and Emergency HEAP and/or if they receive rent subsidies.
Since many of these urban rentals lack parking, the tenants often have to pay to rent parking spaces, or they pay parking tickets, towing and impound fees. Since these rentals are far from suburban jobs, the cost of transportation also adds to the cost of rent. For example, many people that work in the Saratoga County region commute from Fulton and Montgomery county region since they can't afford Saratoga housing or rent prices.
Many of these people have poor credit, poor work history and no savings, so they can't buy a home and can't rent a decent apartment even though they may currently have fairly decent incomes. The desperate landlords in the low income urban areas are often willing to rent to people without running credit checks and without security deposits, last months rent etc. These slumlords will also accept Section 8 tenants and tenants with several kids, dogs cats etc. These tenants also won't report landlords for numerous code violations since they don't want to be tossed out on the street.
Since many landlords no longer include heat, hot water, electric, snow removal, maintenance, repairs, new paint, carpet etc this lack of utilities and services are effectively stealth rent increases.
The poor local family used to be able to buy or rent a mobile home cheaply, but many mobile home parks no longer exist, many mobile homes were junked, plus many manufactured homes are banned in most regions due to zoning laws. Zoning laws in regards to square footage, subdivision, acreage, lot size, road frontage, setback etc have also made homes less affordable.
Many income/credit challenged renters are on multi-year waiting lists for subsidized housing, so they're not actively looking to buy or rent. Many are living with family, friends or renting a slumlord unit while they wait for an opening.
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