Real Estate Discussion Blog http://www.cesadim.org Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:05:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 en Football Playoffs and College Education http://www.cesadim.org/football-playoffs-and-college-education.html http://www.cesadim.org/football-playoffs-and-college-education.html#comments Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:05:35 +0000 admin http://www.cesadim.org/football-playoffs-and-college-education.html Among my guilty pleasures are big time college athletics. I prefer both college football and basketball to their professional counterparts, and when at Wisconsin, I enjoyed having varsity athletes in class (I begin teaching USC classes this spring, and I assume I will have a similar experience here).

I am also sympathetic this morning to the football players at Texas, who must be upset that a computer formula has placed them behind a team that they have beaten on a neutral field. All that said, I think a playoff system for college football is a bad idea.

The reason is varsity athletes already sacrifice enough for their schools, and seasons have already been extended well beyond what they once were. Forty years ago, a typical college team played nine games a season, and there were many fewer bowl games. Now the typical season lasts 11 to 12 games, and BCS teams with 6-6 records are eligible to go to bowls.

The upshot of this is that it is very difficult for players to actually go to college. Going to college means more than showing up to class and doing homework; it also means interacting with other students (some of whom might not even be athletes!), faculty and staff; it means hearing from outside lecturers, and attending musical performances and plays; it means growing intellectually and learning how to think independently. As it is, varsity athletes have what amount to difficult full-time jobs along with their class obligations, and I think it remarkable when they can just meet their class obligations. Of course, very few college athletes, even at a place like USC, will be able to go on to make a living as professional athletes.

I tell employers that they should jump at any opportunity to hire a varsity athlete who graduated in four years with a B average and a real major. The time management skills of these young women and men is remarkable. They needn’t be tested any further.

]]> http://www.cesadim.org/football-playoffs-and-college-education.html/feed A Montgomery County Anecdote http://www.cesadim.org/a-montgomery-county-anecdote.html http://www.cesadim.org/a-montgomery-county-anecdote.html#comments Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:05:32 +0000 admin http://www.cesadim.org/a-montgomery-county-anecdote.html My family spent its last Thanksgiving in Montgomery County, Maryland this past weekend. Montgomery County has among the ten highest median household incomes of any county in the country, and unemployment here remains low., at 3.3 percent. The county’s bond rating is AAA (for whatever that is worth nowadays).

But when we went to White Flint Mall yesterday, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, it was nearly empty. I bought myself an unexpected little gift–a Banana Republic shirt that lists for $79 was selling for $27 (I like their shirts, but I think at list price they charge too much for them). But even with deep discounts, we did not have to wait in line to check out.

Fundamentals are strong here, and yet people aren’t buying stuff. Paul Krugman is telling us to turn to Keynes for an explanation, and so I have been rereading the General Theory. It is a slog of a read, but Keynes’ insights apply to our time more than those of any economist since his time.

]]> http://www.cesadim.org/a-montgomery-county-anecdote.html/feed Terrorists can’t stand the best of us http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-14.html http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-14.html#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:01:13 +0000 admin http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-14.html Suketu Mehta writes about how to respong to the Mumbai terrorists:

“But the best answer to the terrorists is to dream bigger, make even more money, and visit Mumbai more than ever. Dream of making a good home for all Mumbaikars, not just the denizens of $500-a-night hotel rooms. Dream not just of Bollywood stars like Aishwarya Rai or Shah Rukh Khan, but of clean running water, humane mass transit, better toilets, a responsive government. Make a killing not in God’s name but in the stock market, and then turn up the forbidden music and dance; work hard and party harder.

If the rest of the world wants to help, it should run toward the explosion. It should fly to Mumbai, and spend money. Where else are you going to be safe? New York? London? Madrid?”

Mumbai is among the most cosmopolitan, dynamic, open places in the World. Walking around the city is like walking around the London described in Dickens, both in its wonders and its horrors. If fear undermines the dynamism, something wonderful will have been lost. My suspicion is that the citizens of Mumbai will be like the citizens of London–they will mourn and then shake off the results of the terror.

]]> http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-14.html/feed Terrorists can’t stand the best of us http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-13.html http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-13.html#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:01:03 +0000 admin http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-13.html Suketu Mehta writes about how to respong to the Mumbai terrorists:

“But the best answer to the terrorists is to dream bigger, make even more money, and visit Mumbai more than ever. Dream of making a good home for all Mumbaikars, not just the denizens of $500-a-night hotel rooms. Dream not just of Bollywood stars like Aishwarya Rai or Shah Rukh Khan, but of clean running water, humane mass transit, better toilets, a responsive government. Make a killing not in God’s name but in the stock market, and then turn up the forbidden music and dance; work hard and party harder.

If the rest of the world wants to help, it should run toward the explosion. It should fly to Mumbai, and spend money. Where else are you going to be safe? New York? London? Madrid?”

Mumbai is among the most cosmopolitan, dynamic, open places in the World. Walking around the city is like walking around the London described in Dickens, both in its wonders and its horrors. If fear undermines the dynamism, something wonderful will have been lost. My suspicion is that the citizens of Mumbai will be like the citizens of London–they will mourn and then shake off the results of the terror.

]]> http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-13.html/feed Terrorists can’t stand the best of us http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-12.html http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-12.html#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:01:03 +0000 admin http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-12.html Suketu Mehta writes about how to respong to the Mumbai terrorists:

“But the best answer to the terrorists is to dream bigger, make even more money, and visit Mumbai more than ever. Dream of making a good home for all Mumbaikars, not just the denizens of $500-a-night hotel rooms. Dream not just of Bollywood stars like Aishwarya Rai or Shah Rukh Khan, but of clean running water, humane mass transit, better toilets, a responsive government. Make a killing not in God’s name but in the stock market, and then turn up the forbidden music and dance; work hard and party harder.

If the rest of the world wants to help, it should run toward the explosion. It should fly to Mumbai, and spend money. Where else are you going to be safe? New York? London? Madrid?”

Mumbai is among the most cosmopolitan, dynamic, open places in the World. Walking around the city is like walking around the London described in Dickens, both in its wonders and its horrors. If fear undermines the dynamism, something wonderful will have been lost. My suspicion is that the citizens of Mumbai will be like the citizens of London–they will mourn and then shake off the results of the terror.

]]> http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-12.html/feed Terrorists can’t stand the best of us http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-11.html http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-11.html#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:00:45 +0000 admin http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-11.html Suketu Mehta writes about how to respong to the Mumbai terrorists:

“But the best answer to the terrorists is to dream bigger, make even more money, and visit Mumbai more than ever. Dream of making a good home for all Mumbaikars, not just the denizens of $500-a-night hotel rooms. Dream not just of Bollywood stars like Aishwarya Rai or Shah Rukh Khan, but of clean running water, humane mass transit, better toilets, a responsive government. Make a killing not in God’s name but in the stock market, and then turn up the forbidden music and dance; work hard and party harder.

If the rest of the world wants to help, it should run toward the explosion. It should fly to Mumbai, and spend money. Where else are you going to be safe? New York? London? Madrid?”

Mumbai is among the most cosmopolitan, dynamic, open places in the World. Walking around the city is like walking around the London described in Dickens, both in its wonders and its horrors. If fear undermines the dynamism, something wonderful will have been lost. My suspicion is that the citizens of Mumbai will be like the citizens of London–they will mourn and then shake off the results of the terror.

]]> http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-11.html/feed Terrorists can’t stand the best of us http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-10.html http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-10.html#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:00:44 +0000 admin http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-10.html Suketu Mehta writes about how to respong to the Mumbai terrorists:

“But the best answer to the terrorists is to dream bigger, make even more money, and visit Mumbai more than ever. Dream of making a good home for all Mumbaikars, not just the denizens of $500-a-night hotel rooms. Dream not just of Bollywood stars like Aishwarya Rai or Shah Rukh Khan, but of clean running water, humane mass transit, better toilets, a responsive government. Make a killing not in God’s name but in the stock market, and then turn up the forbidden music and dance; work hard and party harder.

If the rest of the world wants to help, it should run toward the explosion. It should fly to Mumbai, and spend money. Where else are you going to be safe? New York? London? Madrid?”

Mumbai is among the most cosmopolitan, dynamic, open places in the World. Walking around the city is like walking around the London described in Dickens, both in its wonders and its horrors. If fear undermines the dynamism, something wonderful will have been lost. My suspicion is that the citizens of Mumbai will be like the citizens of London–they will mourn and then shake off the results of the terror.

]]> http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-10.html/feed Terrorists can’t stand the best of us http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-9.html http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-9.html#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:00:44 +0000 admin http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-9.html Suketu Mehta writes about how to respong to the Mumbai terrorists:

“But the best answer to the terrorists is to dream bigger, make even more money, and visit Mumbai more than ever. Dream of making a good home for all Mumbaikars, not just the denizens of $500-a-night hotel rooms. Dream not just of Bollywood stars like Aishwarya Rai or Shah Rukh Khan, but of clean running water, humane mass transit, better toilets, a responsive government. Make a killing not in God’s name but in the stock market, and then turn up the forbidden music and dance; work hard and party harder.

If the rest of the world wants to help, it should run toward the explosion. It should fly to Mumbai, and spend money. Where else are you going to be safe? New York? London? Madrid?”

Mumbai is among the most cosmopolitan, dynamic, open places in the World. Walking around the city is like walking around the London described in Dickens, both in its wonders and its horrors. If fear undermines the dynamism, something wonderful will have been lost. My suspicion is that the citizens of Mumbai will be like the citizens of London–they will mourn and then shake off the results of the terror.

]]> http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-9.html/feed Terrorists can’t stand the best of us http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-8.html http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-8.html#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:00:44 +0000 admin http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-8.html Suketu Mehta writes about how to respong to the Mumbai terrorists:

“But the best answer to the terrorists is to dream bigger, make even more money, and visit Mumbai more than ever. Dream of making a good home for all Mumbaikars, not just the denizens of $500-a-night hotel rooms. Dream not just of Bollywood stars like Aishwarya Rai or Shah Rukh Khan, but of clean running water, humane mass transit, better toilets, a responsive government. Make a killing not in God’s name but in the stock market, and then turn up the forbidden music and dance; work hard and party harder.

If the rest of the world wants to help, it should run toward the explosion. It should fly to Mumbai, and spend money. Where else are you going to be safe? New York? London? Madrid?”

Mumbai is among the most cosmopolitan, dynamic, open places in the World. Walking around the city is like walking around the London described in Dickens, both in its wonders and its horrors. If fear undermines the dynamism, something wonderful will have been lost. My suspicion is that the citizens of Mumbai will be like the citizens of London–they will mourn and then shake off the results of the terror.

]]> http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-8.html/feed Terrorists can’t stand the best of us http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-7.html http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-7.html#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:00:13 +0000 admin http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-7.html Suketu Mehta writes about how to respong to the Mumbai terrorists:

“But the best answer to the terrorists is to dream bigger, make even more money, and visit Mumbai more than ever. Dream of making a good home for all Mumbaikars, not just the denizens of $500-a-night hotel rooms. Dream not just of Bollywood stars like Aishwarya Rai or Shah Rukh Khan, but of clean running water, humane mass transit, better toilets, a responsive government. Make a killing not in God’s name but in the stock market, and then turn up the forbidden music and dance; work hard and party harder.

If the rest of the world wants to help, it should run toward the explosion. It should fly to Mumbai, and spend money. Where else are you going to be safe? New York? London? Madrid?”

Mumbai is among the most cosmopolitan, dynamic, open places in the World. Walking around the city is like walking around the London described in Dickens, both in its wonders and its horrors. If fear undermines the dynamism, something wonderful will have been lost. My suspicion is that the citizens of Mumbai will be like the citizens of London–they will mourn and then shake off the results of the terror.

]]> http://www.cesadim.org/terrorists-cant-stand-the-best-of-us-7.html/feed