DOGE

[Thales750]

I feel the same way, very disappointed in the fact that my standard advice to a young person is often still not quite enough to buy very much of house in my area. I moved here in part because "Phoenix is cheap" - now the decent, mid-sized homes in the nice suburbs are 6-700k. We got our newly-built home for $590k in 2023 because we were willing to go to a crappy part of town, but Gilbert/Chandler suburbs, a 2000 SF home is anywhere from 500 to 850, especially if built new (a big aspect here as Phoenix just constantly grows outwards).

And it's true whether they rent or buy, the rental rules are pretty strict - if you want a 2 bedroom apartment at $2200/mo, you have to make 6600 in income to qualify, that's almost $80k.

So now I'm turning to my next advice, which is telling my kids, unfortunately - don't be afraid to move to a cheap part of the country if you need to to live well.

Fortunately my son is graduating in 2 mo. with a master's degree in robotics engineering. I don't see HOW that can land a job less than 6 figures, but it probably will....at least at first. The good thing is he's a saver - a real miser, so he will be fine. My daughter, not so much. She's probably going to have to go straight from Dad's home to Marriage in order to stay off the streets, unless she finds a better paying job or moves out of state. My standard reminder to my family is, "If you aren't satisfied with what we have in Arizona, we can always move to St Louis". So far they have declined the offer.

Another avenue is to purchase a fixer up. That's a hard road, but they will end up with over a hundred thousand (or so) in equity tax free,

 

[Mike Krailo]

Another avenue is to purchase a fixer up. That's a hard road, but they will end up with over a hundred thousand (or so) in equity tax free,

I like this suggestion. You could purchase a decent set of tools to use to get the job done easier and learn a thing or two along the way. Great sense of pride in doing something like this.

 

[moke123]

Great sense of pride in doing something like this.

When I bought my current house it wasn't a fixer upper but I took a year off from working so I had lots of time to kill.
As a kid I always hung around with any of the craftsman doing work at our house so I learned a lot early in life to do my own carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and painting. I wound up putting in a new kitchen and bathroom. New floors throughout, new windows, doors. Pretty much put a new face on everything although it didn't need it. Made my wife really happy cause she wouldn't even move in until I had a fresh coat of paint on every wall.

 

[Mike Krailo]

I pretty much did the same thing moke. I have been collecting tools over the years so I can handle most carpentry and tile work. I do some plumbing and can repair my gas water heater when it started to leak. My wife is totally amazed when I get estimates for repairs and then turn around and do the work myself saving a bundle. It's fun doing the repairs after you do some simple troubleshooting to determine the bad parts.

I had an issue where my A/C started to smell really bad (toxic smell). I thought it smelled like burnt electronics, but it had a different smell that I couldn't put my finger on it. So I got the estimate of $1,800 and told them to go pound salt. I didn't believe him when he said the blower motor needed to be replaced due to bad bearings. As it turned out the motor was bad, but one of the windings was open (verified with a multimeter). Probably burned out causing that smell. So I just replaced the motor myself and again the wife couldn't believe it. A/C is back on and we were chillin. Had to wait two days to get the part in, but so what. That motor only cost $400.

I do electronics and basic electrical as well. Just finished putting in LED lighting in the Attic, Garage, Kitchen, and several other rooms. I should have done that when we first moved in. It's like sun light in here.

 

[Thales750]

This was common knowledge, it wasn't even controversial back then.

common knowledge for the Rush hour Rush pick and choose your facts crowd.

 

[Thales750]

More appropriate tough talk.

Trump, Maine's governor clash at White House over executive order compliance: 'We'll see you in court'

President Donald Trump sparred with Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Friday over compliance with an executive order about transgender women in sports.

www.foxnews.com

Trump:

And yet, all the Conservative applauded when the court voted favorably in Chevron. Basically you only like overreach when it makes the wealthy overlords richer.

 

[AccessBlaster]

common knowledge for the Rush hour Rush pick and choose your facts crowd.

You say that like it's a bad thing

 

[Pat Hartman]

Why do Governors and other elected officials think it is OK to violate Federal laws? And WHY do the Feds let them get away with it???????????????? Can't we send in the FBI to arrest her? Trump is doing the right thing by cutting off Federal funds but personal consequences would be a bigger deterrent.

 

[Steve R.]

This was first reported about a week ago:

EPA Chief Lee Zeldin Pledges to Recover $20 Billion Lost by Biden Admin

Lee Zeldin, EPA Chief for the Trump administration, has pledged to recover $20 billion in taxpayer funds lost by the Biden administration.

www.breitbart.com

Now there is a follow-up story:

Biden sent $2 billion to Stacey Abrams-linked group in green energy 'scheme,' EPA says

The Environmental Protection Agency found that the Biden administration gave $2 billion to a climate group linked to Stacey Abrams.

www.foxnews.com

We meed to claw-back that $20B. But this distribution by the Biden administration was a scam, just like Biden's numerous shell corporations to "hide" the distribution of money through obfuscation. This money was apparently "thrown at" questionable "green companies" to implement vaguely defined projects "such as water heaters, induction stoves, solar panels, EV chargers, and weatherization, according to an April 2024 press release from Power Forward Communities." While these programs sound altruistic, there are emergency needs to have to be met now. This is money that could be reallocated (after Congressional approval) to FEMA to help North Carolina and Los Angeles.

 

[AccessBlaster]

Why do Governors and other elected officials think it is OK to violate Federal laws? And WHY do the Feds let them get away with it???????????????? Can't we send in the FBI to arrest her? Trump is doing the right thing by cutting off Federal funds but personal consequences would be a bigger deterrent.

I love it when Trump was addressing the governor's meeting yesterday, the governor of Maine took an ass whooping.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Another avenue is to purchase a fixer up.

I think that's what I said my daughter has done, twice. I only did it once with my current place.

 

[Steve R.]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1892914792777630133

 

[moke123]

BREAKING: DOGE FINDS SLUSH FUND CONNECTED TO PRESIDENT'S HANDLER

Here’s how many billions Elon Musk’s companies are making from U.S. taxpayers

While their boss takes a sledgehammer to federal agencies, SpaceX and Tesla are earning big money from government contracts, writes Io Dodds

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Mike Krailo]

What Musk does is fundamentally important for us all. Others, not so much. How many billions is X making?

 

[Pat Hartman]

Are Tesla and SpaceX performing a service? Trump didn't make any of those contracts, BTW. It was the Biden administration who hated Musk that made the contracts so I have no problem with them. You can be sly and spread all the inuendo you want. But, that's all you've got - inuendo. If Musk is getting grants, he should reject them. Otherwise perform the service he's getting paid for to the best of his ability and bring home our astronauts.

 

[Mike Krailo]

Grok is a service to all if it ends up being true and accurate.

 

[Isaac]

I like the phrase clawing back funds

 

[Pat Hartman]

I like it too but it isn't always possible.

Speaking about "clawing back", Now that the Supremes have permanently shut down Biden's plan to buy votes by forgiving college loan debt, what happens to the people who already had their debt forgiven illegally? Somebody better be clawing this back and reinstating the loans. It can be done without punishing the beneficiaries but the country has to know the limits of an Executive Order. Yesterday you were debt free. Today, you owe us $10,000 again and you need to start up paying the debt in March or April.

 

[Thales750]

Galveston Historical House the X and I restored.

I've been involved with construction since...well we grew up in a house our grandfather built.

1895 restored in 2015

 

[Thales750]

I think that's what I said my daughter has done, twice. I only did it once with my current place.

It's quite an accomplishment. I bet you're proud, of them. I would be.