Articles 03.16.09

There's little to be cheered these days if you are a developer with a project under construction. A small silver lining-construction unions and construction contractors are now willing to negotiate some of the more onerous provisions in their contracts. See the article "Fear and Grouting in New York."

For a case study of how a pro-business, pro-development strategy can help turn around an economically depressed area one only needs to visit the Bronx (who would've thought!) and read the article "The Bronx is up."

What can you learn by looking at ridership numbers for the New York City subways? You would be surprised. Take a look at the article "NY by the Numbers" to really get a sense of where growth has occurred in the five boroughs over the last 10 years. Ridership at some of the fastest growing stations has increased over 700% over the past 10 years.

"Soaking the Rich" outlines the combined magnitude of the proposed increases in the local, state, and federal tax rates. This is not for the faint of heart. I do not recommend reading this at the same time that you're reviewing your most recent brokerage statement. Such large tax increases coming at the same time as a substantial decrease in net worth for the wealthy will not be healthy for the economy. If consumer spending is what will lift us out of this economic slump, tax increases of this magnitude on those who historically are this country's largest spenders will only further discourage spending and exacerbate an already dire situation.

For those of you who know me, you know that I am a music nut. My tastes tend towards hard bop jazz and rock 'n roll. It's always interesting to see lists of what people consider that the top music albums of all times. For the 75 albums that Esquire Magazine (not too sure who reads this anymore, my wife sent me this link) think every man should own check out this link. Actually, many of these albums are superb and don't typically find their way on most peoples lists.