Wild Fires In LA

[TerryRohrer]

Most interesting comment I heard during the past several days of non-stop TV coverage was by a LA reporter who indicated that "10% containmen" of a fire is defined functionally by the fire fighting industry as being successfully contained with little if any potential to cause further damage. I presume that a typial layperson would assume that 10% of anything is marginal at best, although I've never heard the issue being discussed elsewhere...

Not even close to what my understanding of the term is.

"Containment is normally expressed as a percentage of the entire perimeter (the percentage of the black “contained” perimeter compared to the entire perimeter). A wildfire with 25% containment means control lines have been completed around 25% of the fire’s perimeter. Fire managers will not consider a portion of the fireline “contained” until they are confident that the fire will not grow further in that direction. "

Wildfire "Containment" Explained - RedZone

Read about containment and control of fires as well as many other disaster topics on RedZone's weekly blog.

www.redzone.co

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

So, taxing people's real estate sux, with all sorts of unintended consequences. How do you feel about a "wealth tax"?

Ok, why not a simple value added tax and we have luxury taxes - so why not on jewelry, luxury cars, yachts, etc. - you know things that are discretionary spending and are paid by rich people. Chicken plant workers don't buy Rolexes and Gucci bags. And having a 5% sales tax on house sales and mortgages also would nigh replace property taxes and the assessor's office would not be necessary or useful. If I buy a house to live in, why should I continue to pay increasing amounts of taxes on something I own? It's not like owning it means it produces an income. And as you age and try to retire, then what? Continue to pay more and more taxes. Live to be 80 in the same house, and it will eat your entire SS check. So? Do you sell to arbitrage that increase in "value"? As if you don't have to buy in the same market you sell? Why do you think so many California retirees are moving elsewhere? They have to. They cannot afford to buy in that over-priced market. I mean you live in a state where there is no income tax, but your property taxes are pretty high. And you depend upon the oil business to fund education.

 

[J Grant]

Interpretation please? Lost your glasses?

fixed it lol logged off too soon.

 

[Mike Ault]

Ok, why not a simple value added tax and we have luxury taxes - so why not on jewelry, luxury cars, yachts, etc. - you know things that are discretionary spending and are paid by rich people. Chicken plant workers don't buy Rolexes and Gucci bags. And having a 5% sales tax on house sales and mortgages also would nigh replace property taxes and the assessor's office would not be necessary or useful. If I buy a house to live in, why should I continue to pay increasing amounts of taxes on something I own? It's not like owning it means it produces an income. And as you age and try to retire, then what? Continue to pay more and more taxes. Live to be 80 in the same house, and it will eat your entire SS check. So? Do you sell to arbitrage that increase in "value"? As if you don't have to buy in the same market you sell? Why do you think so many California retirees are moving elsewhere? They have to. They cannot afford to buy in that over-priced market. I mean you live in a state where there is no income tax, but your property taxes are pretty high. And you depend upon the oil business to fund education.

I like it. Trump doesn't though. Maybe you're not "ultra MAGA" after all.

 

[Charles West]

I'd like to see a small general sales tax instead of the income tax and make up the difference with a general tariff policy at the margins; no importer gets slammed, just a slightly reduced gross profit, which they can absorb. We get off the backs of citizens, and manufacturing receives a lift.

 

[Mike Ault]

I'd like to see a small general sales tax instead of the income tax and make up the difference with a general tariff policy at the margins; no importer gets slammed, just a slightly reduced gross profit, which they can absorb. We get off the backs of citizens, and manufacturing receives a lift.

So the idea of a "progressive tax code" won't gain any traction with you?

 

[Sandra Koutsopoulos]

OK guys. We're on track for criticizing the screw-ups of the government, and have some pretty solid ideas about how changes could be made in building codes to resist fires, and also likelihood of having more houses with individual solar to cut down on electric line catastrophes! Over 1200 homes in Pacific Palisades alone have burnt to cinders. And most of THESE folks have some dough. And they need a new place to live RIGHT NOW!

Who is going to build 1200 homes all at once, due only to the Pacific Palisades alone. Keep in mind, these ppl are no slouches! They need their bidets and marble and multiple car garages and swimming pools, and screening rooms and wine cellars etc... Hmmm... But they got MONEY!!! Money can't override everything. It can't materialize competent architects and carpenters and electricians and HVAC ppl and painters and landscapers and pool builders over night, especially if there are 1199 OTHER rich dudes wanting their custom luxury homes at the same time. I see a bottleneck ahead, and extreme demand for services which is likely to be... well... INFLATIONARY to the LA area housing market! Oh, and where are all these manual laborers gonna come from to pour that concrete, build the walls, create the roofs and install the solar? Hmmm.... I'm thinkin' we gonna be short on competent MANPOWER. Methinks there might be some folks coming in across the southern border who might be welcomed about now. I also recall another huge disaster in the south (maybe Katrina?) where ppl were ripped off mightily because builders jacked up their prices, and many contractors came in from outside the area to capitalize on the devastation. Demand : Price. Uh oh!

Don't forget Pacific Palisades wasn't the only area of luxury homes burnt to a crisp: Brentwood, Altadena, North Hollywood and many other less affluent areas were hit too. Seems to me manual labor will be in extremely high demand for a few years here. Home Depot and Lowes! Buy some stock! Solar manufacturers need to quadruple their products at least. Oh jeepers, even the price of Maserati's is likely to go up. All those laborers will likely be able to afford their new F250s. Luxury goods destroyed will likely be replaced with new luxury goods. So on the tears and ashes of this current conflagration will rise a renewal of sorts, and many opportunities for rebuilding and innovation.

 

[Charles West]

So the idea of a "progressive tax code" won't gain any traction with you?

We have a progressive tax code now. In an economy with high money velocity, you gain revenue by taxing every transaction by a limited amount. The net result is everyone will have money in their pockets, which pushes even greater activity. The type of system I am thinking about would collect considerably more revenue from the jet set by taxing purchase activity instead of taxing a sheltered source, while the little guy will have more walking-around money.

 

[TerryRohrer]

There is likely to be some kind of rub between the anti gouging law (can't raise prices more than 10% during a disaster) and the demand for building supplies delivered even in a slow fashion. Only newer trucks can legally enter CA, so the freight supply will be less than it could be. Lots of dead wood in the way of progress.

 

[Mike Ault]

We have a progressive tax code now. In an economy with high money velocity, you gain revenue by taxing every transaction by a limited amount. The net result is everyone will have money in their pockets, which pushes even greater activity. The type of system I am thinking about would collect considerably more revenue from the jet set by taxing purchase activity instead of taxing a sheltered source, while the little guy will have more walking-around money.

So you're not talking about scrapping the IRS in favor of a consumption tax? Okay. You can do all sorts of things with that arrangement. Especially if you put me in charge of it.