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Why Rent Is So High and Pay So Low

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221–229 of 229 posts

Re: Why Rent Is So High and Pay So Low

#221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Typically population genetics is its own separate subject at the university level. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=population+genetics+bsc oh no it isn't

Subject as in unit, not subject as in degree. When I taught population genetics I taught population genetics as one half of a unit on human genetics. I would have loved to devote an entire unit to population genetics, but the timetable did not allow it. As a unit it often is called something else to appeal more to students and is more often mixed in with other biology fields. This is a general trend across biology wh…

Typically population genetics is its own separate subject at the university level.

...

As a unit it often is called something else to appeal more to students and is more often mixed in with other biology fields.

Which is it?

Re: Why Rent Is So High and Pay So Low

#222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Subject as in unit, not subject as in degree. When I taught population genetics I taught population genetics as one half of a unit on human genetics. I would have loved to devote an entire unit to population genetics, but the timetable did not allow it. As a unit it often is called something else to appeal more to students and is more often mixed in with other biology fields. This is a general trend across biology wh…

Typically population genetics is its own separate subject at the university level. ... As a unit it often is called something else to appeal more to students and is more often mixed in with other biology fields. Which is it?

It is both - it is a a separate subject (course unit), but one that is often hidden inside another subject (unit) to make it palatable to students. To do this you give it another name and mix in some other stuff - I guess a bit like the way nasty tasting medicine is handled :)

The problem with teaching population genetics is not that it is not important or interesting, but that it involves maths. Biology students and maths are a bit like oil and water.

Re: Why Rent Is So High and Pay So Low

#223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Portland, OR is getting pretty bad as well. Average cost to own a home in 2015 is $313,000[1]. I can't find a current house hold income figure but I know it's pretty low. Definitely below the national average IIRC. The thing to note is that many of those houses selling for ~$300k are very small ( 1. http://www.movingtoportland.net/wp-content/uploads/AverageMe...

$313k? That's a pittance compared to Vancouver where the average home is over $1M. Even in the shitty east side with drug-dealers and prostitutes hanging out on your street you still pay over $1M for a detached home.

Detached homes are really valuable (because you can tear it down). But there are spacious townhouses and condos which are not as expensive.

Re: Why Rent Is So High and Pay So Low

#224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok re: IQ. Re: means, I still can't parse what you wrote the first time and I'm a native speaker. will be with ?

What I wrote was a bit dense and extracting what I was try to say was not easy (this is bad writing on my part). What I was trying to say is the average intelligence of the children is the same as the average intelligence, but the actual values of the children will be scattered and this scattering will show a normal (bell curve) distribution. Putting this into numbers if the father has an IQ (g these days) of 110 and…

Sure, ok, makes sense.

Re: Why Rent Is So High and Pay So Low

#225
post #204
post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ireland, the example shunned by krugmanites, has followed the IMF/ECB advice and is in better position than it was in 2008.

I see some mixed data on Ireland. A quick search shows an unemployment rate that just crossed below 10% in April. From 2000-2008, the unemployment rate ranged 4-5% (with very high unemployment in the 80s and 90s). http://www.tradingeconomics.com/embed/?s=ieuert&v=2015080617... Also, government debt to GDP rose steadily and is near historic highs, although has recently begun to fall: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/em…

The only reason Ireland's unemployment fell is because of emigration.

The economy is a disaster, especially for young people, home repossessions are just getting started by the banks (who were the actual ones bailed out, wrecking the economy by driving government debt through the roof.) The actual situation on the ground is grim, despite what the official figures might tell you.

Source: Irish person who emigrated.

Re: Why Rent Is So High and Pay So Low

#226
post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You must be new here. There's a sizable cadre of IQ score worshipping neo-eugenicists around here. More people need to actually study evolutionary biology. Like I mean the real kind with math and combinatorics and stuff. Or maybe I'm just a stupid head.

I think you might mean population genetics, not evolutionary biology. If you study population genetics you might discover what results from assortative mating.

I read the rest of your replies and I think I misunderstood your point a bit (as did the rest of the crowd).

I don't agree that assortive mating could do what you suggest as quickly as you're suggesting -- evolution is slower than that. But I agree with the general idea that meritocracy has caused a brain drain from the lower classes, and also that the ruling class is quite clever.

As far as transferring 50% of the middle class's wealth upward without a peep -- this has primarily been accomplished through the "culture war." People will vote against their economic interests if it means voting in favor of their cultural biases.

Re: Why Rent Is So High and Pay So Low

#227
post #72
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would point the finger at NIMBYism and the fact that new developments in places like San Francisco, London, and New York have to hop through many many hoops to get built (and pass muster with a surprising number of "stakeholders"). Here is just one example... http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/201... The TL;DR of this article is that a large new apartment block in SF is being held up by a cons…

Or maybe the developer could just hire union labor to build the apartment block.

Nah, that's what I'm talking about. Makes things too complicated and expensive. How about this...

If you have the capital, you can build whatever you want as long as you don't physically endanger other people (building meets earthquake and fire codes, etc.)

Re: Why Rent Is So High and Pay So Low

#228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Assuming you can find such politicians Some of us might become those politicians. :)

but not before becoming wealthy middle-aged people.

Being wealthy and middle-aged isn't intrinsically bad.

Re: Why Rent Is So High and Pay So Low

#229
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or maybe the developer could just hire union labor to build the apartment block.

Nah, that's what I'm talking about. Makes things too complicated and expensive. How about this... If you have the capital, you can build whatever you want as long as you don't physically endanger other people (building meets earthquake and fire codes, etc.)

Why is it "too complicated" to hire union labor? That seems like an easy thing to do, especially since the developer would have ready access to a large labor pool, of which union labor would be one component.
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