Iran

I posted it earlier. Bought a three bedroom house on 2 acres in SW VA on a single income in 1996. That same house today requires the equivalent of two national-average incomes to even get looked at for a loan.

“A single income” tells us nothing. What was that income? And depending on where in SWV a family can live fairly comfortably on $80-$100k per year.
 
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Oh, I meant to share this yesterday.

I saw where years ago Saudi Arabia built a 1200km pipeline to the Red Sea just in case the Persian Gulf was too dangerous to transport.
Has anybody else heard that? If true, then I wonder if/when we will see that be available?
I always wondered about a really short pipeline across the UAE, yeah its a lot more inefficient. but would be reasonably cheap & easy to maintain and would give the UAE a nice middle man cut of the action in situations like these.

when the straight isn't closed, I would imagine the UAE could use it as their standard way on just load their ships on the outbound side of the straight.

I am sure there are reasons it hasn't happened, but it would be interesting to see what it would take.
 
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His biggest f'up was normalizing relations with China, before that we imported nothing from them. Nixon made China the problem it is today at the expense of Japan and Taiwan. He sided with the commies.
it was probably one of the single biggest reasons the USSR collapsed.

before Nixon normalized relations with China them and the USSR were buddy buddy. the USSR really didn't like the chinese branching out. and both began shopping around more and China had a better business partner, the US, than they lost, the USSR. while the USSR never could replace the lost Chinese markets.
 
I always wondered about a really short pipeline across the UAE, yeah its a lot more inefficient. but would be reasonably cheap & easy to maintain and would give the UAE a nice middle man cut of the action in situations like these.

when the straight isn't closed, I would imagine the UAE could use it as their standard way on just load their ships on the outbound side of the straight.

I am sure there are reasons it hasn't happened, but it would be interesting to see what it would take.
I know pipelines are evil is a narrative in America. Keystone for example. But moving oil through a pipeline is far better than via ships, or trains, or trucks. Even without the geopolitical concerns.
 
We shouldn't wish for it, either, because what would come out of that would undoubtedly be worse.

Of course we shouldn't wish for it, that goes without saying.

We just need to fix it. And if the masses would stop arguing over culture wars and pay attention to being raped by the billionaires things might start to change.
 
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according to Google:
1995 median household income = 34k
1995 median home price =115k - 134k

2026 median household income = 84k - 90k
2026 median home price = 400k - 420k

both are close to about 4 times income for home price. 2026 is slightly more.

The average age of a first-time homebuyer was 27 in the year 2000. Now, in 2026, the average age of a first-time homebuyer is 40.
 
it was probably one of the single biggest reasons the USSR collapsed.

before Nixon normalized relations with China them and the USSR were buddy buddy. the USSR really didn't like the chinese branching out. and both began shopping around more and China had a better business partner, the US, than they lost, the USSR. while the USSR never could replace the lost Chinese markets.
The Soviet Union collapsed because Reagan militarily spent them under the table. They destroyed themselves all it took was the threat of Star Wars.
 
The fact that we agreed to allow them to produce any enriched uranium is terrible, they shou;d have zero. They don't let anyone inspect so we know they never changed a thing. It is ok to lle to the infidel in Islam.
The IAEA was inspecting them in accordance with the treaty when Trump ripped it up.
 
I just don't see it. Our kids are just a couple years older than the Gen Z generation and I don't see the hardships, most of their issues come from their own decisions. Yes, everything is more expensive but wages have never been higher, work easier and more leisure time.

I do like the idea of that generation being more non-interventionalist, I do see that in my kids and think it is fantastic and really hope they carry that mindset into their 40s when they will have the power to effect change.

Discretionary spending has never been higher either. It’s just an argument losers make to feel better about their own failure.
 
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according to Google:
1995 median household income = 34k
1995 median home price =115k - 134k

2026 median household income = 84k - 90k
2026 median home price = 400k - 420k

both are close to about 4 times income for home price. 2026 is slightly more.
The numbers I found are a little different but about the same, just note that it's closer to 5x for 2026. That's actually a big deal. Home would need to be about $50k-$90k less on average to be directly comparable. That's not nothing- especiallywith everything else involved,

Remember, nobody is buying a home in a vacuum.
 
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“A single income” tells us nothing. What was that income? And depending on where in SWV a family can live fairly comfortably on $80-$100k per year.
Around $60k/yr at the time, so he was above average.

Living in Pulaski or Lee or Washington counties could certainly be affordable on $80-$100k. But how many jobs there actually pay that level? How many are open to hire at that level? What's it look like in places where there are jobs?

Like I said in my first post on this topic, it's not just about the home prices.
 
The IAEA was inspecting them in accordance with the treaty when Trump ripped it up.
I don't care how much weapons grade material they have any is too much. If they had a bomb they would use it, they have said it and proven it over and over. They are a death cult. It's pretty hard to reason with a suicide bomber.
 
I don't care how much weapons grade material they have any is too much. If they had a bomb they would use it, they have said it and proven it over and over. They are a death cult. It's pretty hard to reason with a suicide bomber.
Where has Iran claimed to want a bomb and will use it once they get one?
 
A family can live in parts of Montgomery County on $80-100K, Franklin County, Floyd and Craig. All within commuting distance to Roanoke and Blacksburg.

Between the wife and I we bought our first house in Hendersonville on about $60k in 1996, it wasn't a smart decision at the time considering daycare and everything else but turned out well.
You'd need two incomes based on the average wage for the metro.
 
Oddly enough Gen Z is buying houses earlier than Millennials. Like 25% of 24 year olds already own homes. I don’t know why the average age has gone up so much

It's my daughters friend group but I don't think any of them own a house and it's because they don't want to be tied down.
 

I mean it's been this way since 2018ish really.
If a Teen/Young Adult doesn't have a head start from a parental figure it's a hard journey to homeownership.


You move out, have to pay 1k a month rent, 400 groceries, 400 utilities, 400 car payment, and insurance etc etc... They are left with nothing to save for a future.
It's a repeating cycle of money in and money out.
 
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It's my daughters friend group but I don't think any of them own a house and it's because they don't want to be tied down.
Do you understand the point I've been making in that being "tied down" more likely than not means having half your income in the house alone? Nobody should want to be tied down like that. There's been about a 5% increase of salary going toward mortgage alone since the mid-90s, and that, again, doesn't cover the other costs of home ownership.
 
I don't care how much weapons grade material they have any is too much. If they had a bomb they would use it, they have said it and proven it over and over. They are a death cult. It's pretty hard to reason with a suicide bomber.

You can't stop a country that has uranium deposits on their soil, from enriching it if they choose to do so; it's literally 80 year old technology at this point.

If Iran wanted to create a dirty bomb, they could just get some cobalt-60 from a junked x-ray machines, drop it in a conventional warhead, and detonate it somewhere over Israel. Even if an interceptor took it out, it would spread cobalt-60 all over the blast zone.
 
Do you understand the point I've been making in that being "tied down" more likely than not means having half your income in a mortgage alone? Nobody should want to be tied down like that.

I'm sure that has a lot to do with it, they value life experiences (traveling) and flexibility to up and move more than buckling down and building equity. I understand perfectly what you mean. And I'm using a miniscule sample amount, not trying to paint the entire generation.
 
Again, "two incomes" means nothing. Talk in dollars and a family of four could own a decent home and live comfortably (yeah that is subjective) off $80-100K in the counties I listed.
To live what you are classifying as a decent comfortable life 25-30 years ago were two incomes required?
 

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