In 2009, the median home price was $220,900, according to the Federal Reserve, and a new car cost an average of $23,276, according to the Energy Department. Had prices increased at the rate of the consumer-price index, the average house would cost $322,000 today and a car would cost $34,000. Instead, the Fed reports an average house goes for $412,000 today, and a typical new car is $48,000, according to Kelley Blue Book.
The national going rate for a babysitter 15 years ago was $10.50 an hour, according to Care.com. Now it’s $18.38, 20% more than if the cost had tracked the consumer-price index.
Budget-conscious HENRYs tell me it’s often hard to find midtier options in, well, anything, as companies push luxury versions of everything from high-end water bottles to $1,000-a-night hotel rooms.
File under: “Not only do things not cost what they used to, they don’t cost what they’re ‘supposed’ to cost now.”
And I’ve commented on the last paragraph to the Mrs. for about 5-10 years now: Business pricing strategy has all but eliminated the ‘middle option’ for anything from home supplies, to cars, to pencils. You either go with uber cheap from China, or you go for super high-end (which in many cases, still isn’t that good - you’ve just paid for the feeling of premium without the actual premium; like the $425 pair of Bose headphones I splurged on 3 years ago that starting tattering after a year-and-a-half of gentle use at the office).
My takeaways: Be happy with less and what really matters, be resourceful, and stand on the sidelines long enough so supply-side gets the signal.
UPDATE 11 Oct 2024: In related news, WSJ reports today, “After Years of Increases, Companies Are Rolling Back Prices” via @WSJ
Just to put some punctuation on the end of the O’s ⚾ season here: Certainly hoped for a better result than to be swept again in Round 1 of post-season, but there was some good ball to watch over the summer, obviously the second half was painful as we limped along to the end of regular season, but we did make it to post-season for the second time in two years, and we did have another decently interesting season to watch.
So thank you O’s for going out there and giving it your best each night, for fighting to come back as best you could, and keep your chin up: Baltimore thanks you. Enjoy an off season of some well-deserved rest!
Bookstores are making a comeback. Here’s one with 50,000 titles by Dan Rodricks in The Baltimore Sun
In Baltimore, the Ivy Bookshop and Greedy Reads are among independent stores that continue to buck the online trend and serve readers. Membership in the American Booksellers Association has just about doubled (to more than 2,400) since 2016, and the association says nearly 200 stores are opening over the next two years. A booksellers group in Colorado reports that, since 2020, at least 100 new stores have opened in 14 Western states, many of them in small towns.
I was starting to get into book reading more, but got waylaid by a couple life events (good ones). I’ve got some titles I need to finish up, and still torn some on the space requirement of books (need some dimensional folding solution), but the one I’m tempted to buy now is Andrew Steeves’ final letterpress book under the Gaspereau Press imprint, “Type Bountiful”.
My wife accused me the other day of stealing the thesaurus … I was shocked, surprised, and amazed.
⚾Feels like gang’s back together (with players finally coming back from IL), and great to be able to celebrate the O’s clinching their post-season in a 5-3 win over the Yankees where saw a lot of the spark we’ve come to enjoy the last year-and-a-half from the team!
Welcome back Mountcastle, Coulombe, Westburg, Urias, Webb, & more!
(Vid via X)
Maryland must reverse its competitive decline
Maryland’s alarming slide from 22nd to 31st place in CNBC’s 2024 Top States for Business rankings is more than a statistic — it’s a glaring warning sign about our state’s economic competitiveness.
Our fall is particularly concerning in three key areas: business friendliness (from 24th to 37th), infrastructure (from 15th to 37th) and a stagnant workforce ranking (28th). Most alarmingly, Maryland ranks 47th for the cost of doing business, making it the fourth-most-expensive state for businesses to operate in. These rankings matter. They influence business decisions on where to locate, expand or invest.
A good explanation of the infield fly rule - Essentially, it prevents the defense from intentionally missing an infield fly ball and forcing a double play. ⚾️
Remarkable Paper Pro – Been enjoying the Remarkable 2 for a year, and these next improvements seem to be in all the right areas (e.g., size of screen and color). Very tempted to upgrade.
This looks like a helpful set of tools for creating personal financial wellness – Called MyBlocks, it has 5 Pillars of Financial Wellness:
Maryland to cut $1.3b from Transportation Budget
Hundreds of millions of dollars for planned transportation improvements across Maryland would be slashed for the second consecutive year under a proposed update to the state’s transportation budget, Gov. Wes Moore’s administration said Tuesday.
The cuts — totaling $1.3 billion from the roughly $20 billion, six-year transportation plan — would defer some maintenance projects like sidewalk repairs and traffic improvements, slow down the transition to fully electric state-run buses and pause the development stage of other initiatives.
30 Stoic Wisdom Sayings — Essentially all good reminders.
Liberty is the disciplining of desire so as to make the achievement of the good first possible and finally effortless.
-Classical definition of liberty as described by the ancient philosophers
Apparently it’s getting to be that time of life … readers.
Not crisis mode yet, but for certain font size & lighting situations, definitely feeling it.
Of course, the ‘drug store’ variety could seem to do the trick, but these sure look nice … 🤓
(Helpful references: A reading glasses strength chart from Warby Parker.)
John Shea formulated a principle in this regard that is as helpful as it is difficult: criticize someone precisely in the measure that you are willing to help that person deal with the problem that you have raised. If your commitment to help is nil, you should remain silent; if your willingness to help is moderate, your critique should be moderate; if you were willing to do all in your power to address the situation with the person, speak the whole truth.
For any baseball ⚾️ fans out there - this deal good til midnight. (MLB TV + All Teams to end of season, normally $69.99 this time of year.)
(via AG)
Downtown Havre de Grace set to undergo restoration focusing on walkability and scenery
Work has begun to transform the heart of downtown Havre de Grace into a pedestrian-friendly, “Chesapeake Colonial” town with wider sidewalks, new trees, brick roadways and parallel street parking.
“This is the vision of the majority of the people,” Martin said. “The real emphasis on this is letting the citizens have pride in their downtown and feeling like they belong to something special because Havre de Grace is amazing.” The project will use a portion of the $13.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds the town received from the federal government to replace critical infrastructure. The funds were distributed nationally to help with recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic. Infrastructure replacements include water lines, electric and sewer lines. Since the repairs and replacements require the town to dig up popular downtown streets such as St. John and Washington streets, project officials are calling the restoration plan a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to improve the city.
(via Baltimore Sun)
I don’t know when exactly it happened, but somewhere along the line, Cheerios became Fruit Loops … It’s a slippery slope I tell ya. ;)
Discovered on the interwebs. Immediately forwarded to attorney friend as a diversified revenue stream offering to consider further. :)