More four year degrees won't solve the current problem

David Brooks and Thomas Friedman have recently taken to arguing that the solution to our income distribution woes is to encourage and enable more people to go to college.  I want to leave aside for a second the fact that our educational problems are much deeper than that--that our high school graduation rate is declining is to me the most alarming education statistic.

Rather, it is worth looking at what has happened to earnings by educational attainment over the past eight years.  The census has put out data for 2002-2010, and here is what it (Table A-6) shows:

Median earnings for men with a high school degree fell 12.1 percent between 2002-2010; earnings for women with a high school diploma fell 8.5 percent between 2002-2010; for men with college degrees, it was a fall of 8.0 percent; for women with college degrees it was flat.  So yes, education is increasing income inequality in that those with college degrees are losing less than those with high school diplomas.

I am the sort of person who would be fine with a GINI of .5 (a number the reflects lots of inequality) if it meant that the people who are materially worst off can live at a decent standard of living.  But currently, those who play by the rules (and I mean really play by the rules) are seeing their living standards erode.  Homilies about sending more people to college are at the moment pretty much beside the point.

Our Thanksgiving Table (2011)

And the countdown to Thanksgiving beings!  Over the weekend I finished up my grocery list and actually made it to the store.  I "think" I have everything, so I'm hoping I don't have to return to the store for "one more thing!" I also completed our Thanksgiving tablescape:)

This year, our Thanksgiving table was inspired by all the luxurious shiny gold I'm seeing and loving these days in fashion and home decor.   The place card for the table (a spray painted pear and computer-crafted label) sparked the idea.

I'm particularly fond of white flowers and paired them with white candles.  Those gold vases were only $5 at Homegoods!

I incorporated black satin ribbon, lace, and feathers into this years' table. 

For a bit of fun, I added these two turkeys that I found at Pottery Barn Kids. 

Sources

• Tablecloth and small votive holders- Target


• Runner, charger, black plates- Z Gallerie


• Chevron plates and cups- Mikasa


• Gold silverware- Overstock.com


• Glass candleholders, ribbon and feathers (and lamps)- Hobby Lobby


• Gold vases- Home Goods


• Large gold bowl- TJ Maxx


• Turkeys- Pottery Barn Kids

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You can visit The Lettered Cottage for more Fall Tablescape Ideas.

Raphael Bostic takes on Joe Gyourko

The Assistant Secretary of PDR (and USC colleague) writes:

This week, HUD released its annual report to Congress on the financial status of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund.  The report demonstrates the long-term strength of the Fund while not shying away from the challenges it faces in the near-term due to ongoing stresses in the housing market.  While the independent actuary reports older books of business underwritten during the bubble years of 2000-2008 are expected to produce losses of more than $26 billion, it also finds that FHA has a very strong platform going forward, with insurance on loans booked since January 2009 posting an estimated net economic value of $18 billion. Indeed, the actuary reports that the Fund still retains positive capital, and that it should be able to rebuild capital to the statutory requirement of two percent of insurance-in-force very quickly once housing markets across the county exhibit sustained growth.

Notwithstanding findings of the independent actuary that the FHA MMI Fund retains positive capital four years into the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression, a report commissioned by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) suggests that FHA both lacks an actuarially sound program and is in current need of a significant capital infusion. 

Read the whole thing. It has actually stunned me how well FHA says done relative to AEI's paragon of virtue, the private market.  Of course, it was the private labels security market that drove down FHA's market share during the worst of the lending market. FHA loans actually always required underwriting; underwriting in the private sector often disappeared.

GIVEAWAY {JANERY- A Celebration of Fabric} Pillows and More

Today's giveaway comes from a blogging friend that I actually got a chance to meet in person at Blissdom last year.  We had a little bit of time to get to know each other and I found out that she blogs about home decor for the rented home.  Her name is Jane and her blog is aptly named A Borrowed Abode.  Jane recently launched an esty shop, Janery, filled with lots of handmade creations, take a peek:

Jane's pillows have invisible zippers so that both sides of the pillow can be displayed.  She can also customize the size of the pillow.

And more!

Also, I thought you might be interested to know Jane's philosophy with her business:  With Janery, I pledge to always give back, no matter how small my company may be. A portion of all sales will be donated to the Carpenter Shelter/Hoffman Center for Homeless Families, because I believe that everyone, deserves to live in a safe, affordable home.

I believe in supporting US businesses, so I've taken the time to track down quality suppliers whose products are manufactured in the USA. The pillow inserts, flour sack towels, quilt batting, and polyfill are all made in the USA by family-owned companies. The organic cotton produce bags are manufactured overseas, but in certified fair labor & fair wage facilities. I have not yet been able to source only US-made fabrics, but I continue to research it.

Jane is giving away a $50 credit to her shop!



To Enter (leave a separate comment for each):

• Visit Janery and leave me a comment with your favorite product.


• Follow Janery on Twitter


• Follow/Like Janery on Facebook


• Tweet about this giveaway


• Facebook about this giveaway


• Blog about this giveaway


• For another entry, follow A Borrowed Abode blog.

The winner will be announced Saturday, November 26, 2011.

Thank you for entering!

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And THANK YOU to everyone who entered the Whimsy Lane & Pickle Doodle Giveaways.

**Alischubox- please email me (honeywerehomeblog@gmail.com) so I can tell you how to claim your prize.  I don't have your email address on your profile.

You're Invited: Blogosphere Holiday Link Party!

Don't you just love a holiday par-tay?  I'm giddy to be hosting a holiday link party with some of my favorite ladies in blogtown this year!  Mark your calendars, this is gonna be fun!

Cassie (Hi Sugarplum!) will get the party started on November 29, and we'd love to have you join in and link up your holiday craft with her!



The party continues on December 1 with Courtney (A Thoughtful Place), showcasing Holiday Vignettes.



On December 6, you can share your mantle at Michelle's (Ten June).



Link up your Christmas Trees with me (Honey We're Home) on December 8.



On December 13, visit Natasha (Schue Love) to savor some deliciousness.



And Michaela (Michaela Noelle Designs) wraps up the party with holiday decor on December 15.

I really hope you'll join us:)  We can't wait to see what you are creating for the holidays this year!

Feel free to invite your friends and grab our button! 

*A big "Thank You" to Jessica from Creative Index who designed our Holiday Hop graphic. Besides her blog, she also runs Hello Monday Design, a boutique design studio, where she specializes on design solutions for pixel and print.  

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GIVEAWAY UPDATES:

If you haven't yet entered the Whimsy Lane Giveaway, go HERE to enter.

If you haven't yet entered the Pickle Doodle Designs Giveaway, go HERE to enter.

Both winners will be announced tomorrow, Saturday, November 19, 2011.

& 

I'll be announcing a NEW GIVEAWAY from my sponsor Janery

(You'll really want to win one of her stylish pillow covers:) 

Read CRL on Disparities in Mortgage Lending

The Center for Responsible Lending's research team of Carolina Reid (who has been working tirelessly at developing data on subprime mortgages for some time now), Roberto Quercia, We Li and Debbie Grunstein Bocian has produced Lost Ground, 2011: Disparities in Mortgage Lending and Foreclosures. They argue

1) The nation is not even halfway through the foreclosure
crisis. Among mortgages made between
2004 and 2008, 6.4 percent have
ended in foreclosure, and an additional 8.3 percent are
at immediate, serious risk.

(2) Foreclosure patterns are strongly
linked with patterns of risky
lending.
The foreclosure rates are consistently
worse for borrowers who received high-risk loan products
that were aggressively marketed
before the housing crash, such as
loans with prepayment penalties,
hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages
(ARMs), and option
ARMs.
Foreclosure rates are highest in
neighborhoods where these
loanswere concentrated.

(3)The majority of people affected
by foreclosures have been
white families. However, borrowers of
color are more than twice as
likely to lose their home as
white households. These higher
rates reflect the fact that African
Americans and Latinos were
consistently more likely to receive
high-risk loan products, even
after accounting for income and
credit status.

It is really striking how African-Americans and Hispanics were steered into crappy loans, even controlling for income and credit history. Beyond all this, the web site accompanying the report has really nicely organized data on severely delinquent loans and loans in foreclosure by state, race, ethnicity and MSA.

Holmen Jenkins makes me spit out my coffee this morning.

He spins this scenario:

Take this case: Workers in a rail yard see men in suits prowling around. Rumors fly the company is being sold. One worker buys call options on his employer's stock and, because the rumors turn out to be right, is hauled up on insider-trading charges. Had the rumors been wrong, had the worker lost money, had the men in suits been federal railroad inspectors, think the feds would have filed a case?

The natural lesson we draw from this little piece of fiction: if Spencer Bachus buys a short position after he meets with Ben Bernanke, it's ok.