Any ER business ideas?

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BUM Holy crap $20 a poop? Hmmm anyone have rabbitts?

Main Entry: crap
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English "crappe" chaff, residue from rendered fat, perhaps from Old French "crappe" chaff, residue, from Medieval Latin "crappa"
1 a usually vulgar : EXCREMENT b usually vulgar : the act of defecating
2 sometimes vulgar : NONSENSE, RUBBISH; also : STUFF

We have a very productive bunny (bare-headed) who fertilizes an entire yard of orchids at about a half-cup a day.* This is him enjoying ER, since he doesn't get paid for it.

[LovesLife]

Nords,

Does he live in your house or is he just visiting?

LovesLife

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords We have a very productive bunny (bare-headed)

Bare Headed? Oh...the humanity..uhh...the bunnanity...

[ESRBob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Sure they do, and everyone can go buy one of their own. My $33,864 COLA'd pension can be produced by $705,500 of I bonds yielding 4.8% at the same default risk.

Good point on the I-bonds providing the equivalent of a safe federal COLA'd pension -- hadn't thought of it that way. Aside from the obvious differences of choosing the right SWR for the ibonds (4.8% won't leave the principal intact at renewal time-- isn't there a 30 years maximum maturity date on Ibonds?), the interesting nuance, which the whole Social Security 'reform' may end up hinging on, is the notion that COLA'd pensions may be indexed to wage increases while the I-bonds index to CPI -- the 1% or so annual difference accumulating over time to a meaningful loss of relative purchasing power.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LovesLife Nords, Does he live in your house or is he just visiting? LovesLife

No, he's a full-time indoor pet. He was picked up on a Waimanalo streetcorner and came to us via the Humane Society (except for two critical parts that make him a lot easier to live with if you know what I mean).

Spouse is allergic to dog & cat hair. At a pet shop we were surprised to discover that she's not allergic to rabbit hair. The kid & I used to be dog walkers at the Society (cute kid exercising a pound dog means one of them will be quickly adopted) so she knew where to go for a bunny. Rabbits are most active in the morning and the late afternoons so they're great pets for school-age kids-- http://www.rabbit.org/.

"Peter Cottontail" is a $15 orange rex-- a little over a foot long and four pounds. He has a cage but he roams the familyroom & diningroom during the day. We figure he's about five years old and they live 10-12 years. His brain is the size of a walnut but he has an unexpectedly strong personality and he knows he rules this house. I've learned quite a bit about rabbits and he's wormed his way into our hearts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESRBob The interesting nuance, which the whole Social Security 'reform' may end up hinging on, is the notion that COLA'd pensions may be indexed to wage increases while the I-bonds index to CPI -- the 1% or so annual difference accumulating over time to a meaningful loss of relative purchasing power.

(Note that this is one high-quality post on two topics instead of sixteen quickies on portions thereof.)

So few taxpayers understand the nuances of wage indexing & CPI "hedonic" adjustments (current board members excluded, of course) that the Congressional temptation will be irresitible. By the time the elections are over the SS tax wage cap will be vacated, indexing will be changed to lag the ECI by 1% (if wage indexing survives at all), and full CPI will continue to reflect anything but one's actual inflation rate.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESRBob Good point on the I-bonds providing the equivalent of a safe federal COLA'd pension

It is, but its actually a 1.2% CPI'd pension, rather than a 4.8% cola'd one.

Doesnt sound as good when you say it that way, does it?

I'm still firmly in the camp that believes the CPI understates actual broad based inflation (the real cost of living), at least in many parts of the country...and definitely mine. The housing cost increases around here coupled with gas price increases already create a cost of living increase that far exceeds 3 or 4 percent.

Which means your ibond 'pension' would lose ground to inflation and taxes every year.

[Martha]

I understand that the CPI uses rents, not housing prices, in its calculation of inflation. Given rents, at least in California, have not kept pace with housing prices, no wonder personal inflation in California is so large.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

When a $300,000 home can be rented for $1000-1200 a month, I'd say so.

Hmmm...given that more people own than rent...I wonder why CPI calcs would use the more economically favorable rents than the less favorable purchase costs :

Granted once you've bought in, you're indexed by owning the appreciating asset. But you do have to buy one in the first place to start off...