Where Americans are Moving --what's happening in your county?

[dave1949]

What's happening where I live? All the city folk are moving into my adjacent rural county and then complaining about the lack of city conveniences...so, here come the strip malls...and up go my taxes.

Yup. First your taxes will go up to build new roads, then they will line them with strip malls and 20 traffic lights to make the roads worthless for getting anywhere. Next you will be paying for a couple new schools. Time to move
Dave.

 

[300UGUY]

Yup. First your taxes will go up to build new roads, then they will line them with strip malls and 20 traffic lights to make the roads worthless for getting anywhere. Next you will be paying for a couple new schools. Time to move
Dave.

Around here, the local political types are convinced that a new freeway xchange will be the salvation of the county. Despite the fact that the population is actually decreasing. They just don't get it, the jobs and people aren't coming back. Basically nobody to finance anything. The local banks are in a hole over real estate and development loans. We have strip malls that are 5 years old, and have never had a tenant. On my road, there are 14 homes, in 2+ miles. Only 1 with kids. The local school systems are shrinking, laying off teachers and others. We have a brand new high school, but not enough kids to open it, the school system has lost over 1K kids in the last 5 years. I really don't know where it ends.

 

[brin]

Looks like about 100 folks left our country...I know of them all..we were glad they left..:laughing:

 

[dmccarty]

If cap and trade passes folks will button up their homes and drive more fuel efficient cars.

First hand...the biggest hedge I've found to wild swings in fuel prices is owning a car that gets 35 mpg.

Folks can't just button up their homes nor will having a fuel efficient car protect them from wild swings in fuel prices. Cap and Trade will effect how much they pay to run their home as well as the prices of food. Tax and Trade will just raise energy prices and taxes. It certainly will increase people's expenses.

I already have a very tight and efficient house. Raising my power bill just raises my power bill. I cannot "button" up my home anymore than it is.

Later,
Dan

 

[keegs]

Dan,

If you're already conserving energy then the impact of a cap and trade scheme initially will be minimal. And by the time everyone catches up to you, new products and technologies will be available for you to further reduce your energy consumption.

 

[dave1949]

The Detroit situation is a little bit unique. The city proper started to fall apart back in the early 1970s when a corrupt mayor was elected and served for about 21 years straight. What happened during that time was that the whole city government got filled with corrupt cronies. Business and the working class moved to the suburbs.

When he left, the following mayors served short turns and left because they couldn't change the tide of the poisoned city government. Then in 2001, Detroit elected another corrupt mayor, presently locked up in jail for the second time.

This is what killed Detroit, not the loss of manufacturing. The loss of manufacturing has taken it's toll on Detroit to a degree, but the city was pretty dead by that time. The decline in manufacturing of the 2000s was more detrimental to the suburbs and the rest of Michigan.

Yep, and as I recall, Detroit had a School Board that was a bit wacky too. My cousin and her husband left Redford around the early '80s. He had a U-Haul franchise and just wasn't enjoying doing business there. They've been in Florida ever since.
Dave.

 

[dave1949]

Folks can't just button up their homes nor will having a fuel efficient car protect them from wild swings in fuel prices. Cap and Trade will effect how much they pay to run their home as well as the prices of food. Tax and Trade will just raise energy prices and taxes. It certainly will increase people's expenses.

I already have a very tight and efficient house. Raising my power bill just raises my power bill. I cannot "button" up my home anymore than it is.

Later,
Dan

In today's Waterville, ME Morning Sentinel is an editorial regarding Maine's adoption of home energy efficiency standards. 39 states have such standards in place already.

A local builder, Bill Risbara of Risbara Bros. states; "my customers would give up energy savings for a hardwood floor or tile floor any day of the week."

"(Builders) argue that the new standards would add to the cost of new home, and customers will have less money to afford the aesthetic features that they prefer."

I don't doubt a word the builder is saying, but what are the implications of that? People aren't placing any value on our oil dependency or the problems associated with oil. Mind you, 80% of Maine homes are heated with oil.

Some mechanism, be it cap and trade or something else, has to be used to smack people up side the head just a little. They need to be at least trying to conserve. The proposed insulation standards are R20 walls, R49 attics and R30 floors. These are not high standards for this climate. The rest of the standard is sealing of joints, seams, plumbing holes, penetrations in general and attic hatches. In other words, some quality building techniques.
Dave.

 

[300UGUY]

The Detroit situation is a little bit unique. The city proper started to fall apart back in the early 1970s when a corrupt mayor was elected and served for about 21 years straight. What happened during that time was that the whole city government got filled with corrupt cronies. Business and the working class moved to the suburbs.

When he left, the following mayors served short turns and left because they couldn't change the tide of the poisoned city government. Then in 2001, Detroit elected another corrupt mayor, presently locked up in jail for the second time.

This is what killed Detroit, not the loss of manufacturing. The loss of manufacturing has taken it's toll on Detroit to a degree, but the city was pretty dead by that time. The decline in manufacturing of the 2000s was more detrimental to the suburbs and the rest of Michigan.

I don't know. When I worked for Chrysler back in the mid 70's, Chrysler had over 30K employees in Detroit. My plant, Lynch rd Assembly, had 6K onsite. I think Chrysler has about 2K at Jefferson Assembly. That's it. I went to work for Cadillac Motor car in 79. We had 15K UAW employes in Detroit. ( also a bunch of GM facilities, now closed) A small city in it's own right. Now it's down to 1500. That's the only GM factory left in the city. The political bs didn't help, but losing 90% of the jobs was the death blow, IMHO. My last plant was in Livonia. At one time GM had about 14K employees in Livonia, many of them Detroiters. As of Aug 1, Gm will have 0 employees in Livonia. A lot of stores and restuarants have closed, and the whole area is obviously going downhill. Just like Detroit in the 80's.

 

[keegs]

I don't know. When I worked for Chrysler back in the mid 70's, Chrysler had over 30K employees in Detroit. My plant, Lynch rd Assembly, had 6K onsite. I think Chrysler has about 2K at Jefferson Assembly. That's it. I went to work for Cadillac Motor car in 79. We had 15K UAW employes in Detroit. ( also a bunch of GM facilities, now closed) A small city in it's own right. Now it's down to 1500. That's the only GM factory left in the city. The political bs didn't help, but losing 90% of the jobs was the death blow, IMHO. My last plant was in Livonia. At one time GM had about 14K employees in Livonia, many of them Detroiters. As of Aug 1, Gm will have 0 employees in Livonia. A lot of stores and restuarants have closed, and the whole area is obviously going downhill. Just like Detroit in the 80's.

I read recently GM was moving production of the Aveo from Korea to Lake Orion...and if it takes off, the Spark will follow. My guess is these decisions are tenuous though.

 

[dmccarty]

Dan,

If you're already conserving energy then the impact of a cap and trade scheme initially will be minimal. And by the time everyone catches up to you, new products and technologies will be available for you to further reduce your energy consumption.

Bovine Scat. A tax is a tax. A cost increase is a cost increase. Unless the new technologies provide free power/energy then we will just pay more for everything that is impacted by cap and trade.

Later,
Dan