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Whatever We're Doing, It's Not Working
Tweet Share on Facebook March 7, 2010 Comment (9)In his latest book, "Jimmy Stewart Is Dead," Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff says the fundamental soundness of our financial system is so compromised that nothing short of revolutionary fixes will save this patient, and set our economy on a healthier trajectory. Harking back to Jimmy Stewart's movie role as small-town banker George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life," Kotlikoff says the era of responsible banking has been replaced by the highly leveraged and morally bankrupt system whose crash brought on the worst downturn since the Great Depression.
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Americans Once Again Rolling With Their RVs
Tweet Share on Facebook March 5, 2010 Comment (2)Elkhart, Ind., is the groundhog of the recovery. As home to much of what's left of the recreational vehicle industry, Elkhart has been the poster child of the Great Recession. It is regularly cited as an example of what's not working with the economy. So, when we say that signs of a recovery are appearing in the RV industry, let's hope Elkhart doesn't get frightened by its shadow and disappear for another six months. Like other early indicators of the recovery, this one is not as robust as we may like.
[Slide Show: Americans Once Again Rolling With Their RVs.]
RVs got hammered by soaring oil prices, the credit crunch, and the recession. People were turned off by the industry's gas-guzzling image. If they did have the resources to buy, they found credit had dried up and attractive purchase terms were hard to find. As 2008 dragged into 2009, of course, fewer and fewer people had the resources to even think about buying an RV. Industry shipments of all RVs—from small towable campers to motor home luxury liners—cratered at fewer than 6,000 units a month as 2008 ended.
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Retirement Community Economics Are Challenging
Tweet Share on Facebook March 4, 2010 Comment (2)If you want to move into Aberdeen Heights, a new retirement community being built west of St. Louis, you must be at least 62 years old. You will need to prove you have assets double the amount of your entrance fee and monthly income of at least 1.6 times the monthly service fee you will pay to live in Aberdeen Heights. You must obtain Medicare or other health insurance satisfactory to community owners and demonstrate that you are able to live independently and have not been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or dementia. Then, you get to pay Aberdeen Heights a bundle of money to live there. Such a deal!
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The New Reality of Senior Communities
Tweet Share on Facebook March 3, 2010 Comment (2)Late next year, a new $190 million retirement community will begin opening living units west of St. Louis in Kirkwood, Mo. Called Aberdeen Heights, it will include 243 independent living and 30 assisted living apartments, 15 memory support (Alzheimer's) units, and 38 nursing beds. Aberdeen Heights will be at or near the top of the line in what are called continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs). It also represents one of the few new CCRCs to attract investors in recent times, as the industry slowly recovers from the major economic blows of a recession plus housing and credit market crises. For prospective CCRC residents, and their families, Aberdeen Heights provides a guide to what the CCRC business may look like in the future.
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