US economy thread (1 Viewer)

[HomerSimpson]

I've often wondered why we need so much self-storage. Looks like I'm not the only one to notice how many of these places there are. I just like to imagine that they're all filled with giant piles of meth money.

I hear it's a cheap passive investment, for people who want to start up a starter business someplace that is zoned for "Business". Personally I am not a Hoarder, when I think my house is getting full, I don't need a storage unit. I'm hittin the dump.

 

[Peggy]

Yeah, the last thing I need is to pay rent to store stuff.

 

[Sand]

Speaking of urgent cares, they are giving banks a run for the money for the number of locations. These things are popping up everywhere.

I like to spend my days going to Urgent Care and then heading next door to Starbucks, where I grab a coffee before hitting the car wash and storage unit facility next door.

Same where I live, massive overbuilding in all four of these spaces: coffee, self-storage, anything auto, and hospital/urgent care (which is ironic given the massive shortages in labor for nursing and doctors). Same with giant multi-family apartment complexes, popping up everywhere.

One thing I also don't like is that hedge funds and other large corps are getting heavily into veterinary care and dentistry. Buying up the small moms and pops and jacking up prices.

Hedge funds are buying up landscaping companies now. Good grief.

 

[Buckna]

Speaking of urgent cares, they are giving banks a run for the money for the number of locations. These things are popping up everywhere.

I like to spend my days going to Urgent Care and then heading next door to Starbucks, where I grab a coffee before hitting the car wash and storage unit facility next door.

Same where I live, massive overbuilding in all four of these spaces: coffee, self-storage, anything auto, and hospital/urgent care (which is ironic given the massive shortages in labor for nursing and doctors). Same with giant multi-family apartment complexes, popping up everywhere.

One thing I also don't like is that hedge funds and other large corps are getting heavily into veterinary care and dentistry. Buying up the small moms and pops and jacking up prices.

Hedge funds are buying up landscaping companies now. Good grief.

Always Seeking Alpha!!!

 

[Max Power]

I've often wondered why we need so much self-storage. Looks like I'm not the only one to notice how many of these places there are. I just like to imagine that they're all filled with giant piles of meth money.

I know we have a ton around me, but I thought it was a local thing. A lot of single military guys will break an apartment lease prior to a deployment and store their stuff. It's a cheaper option vs an empty apartment for 6-12 months.

 

[Joe Bryant]

I listened in on a conversation this morning with Dr. Joanne Hsu from the University of Michigan - she runs their surveys on consumer sentiment. One stat that popped was the correlation with political party and their opinion on the economy. The swings are getting larger over time. It is also taking longer for opinions to shift - part of the discussion focused around social media. If your party is (or is not) in power, you are going to be fed more posts to support that position, and once you click the "Like" button, you are more likely to dig in your heals.

Bush - 20 pts
Obama - 20 pts
Trump - 40 pts
Biden -37 pts
Current - 44 pts

Link to the latest data

I've been trying to figure out how to say this in this thread without being "political".

Thanks. Let's definitely stay away from the political angles on it. Thanks.

 

[beer 30]

I've often wondered why we need so much self-storage. Looks like I'm not the only one to notice how many of these places there are. I just like to imagine that they're all filled with giant piles of meth money.

I hear it's a cheap passive investment, for people who want to start up a starter business someplace that is zoned for "Business". Personally I am not a Hoarder, when I think my house is getting full, I don't need a storage unit. I'm hittin the dump.

We have a bunch in my area but we also have a growing community of folks transitioning here from all over (I live near Charlotte, NC). My daughter recently had to store a bunch of her stuff due to a divorce so rented a spot in a newer building (probably 2 years old?). It was half the rent of all the other places in town ($110 vs $200 a month for same space). This facility is on the outskirts of town but still all of a 15 minute drive instead of 10 minutes. Last month she gets a notice the place had been sold and her rent is going up to $150/mth for a large living room type space that isn't climate controlled. This place is 3 stories, lotta space and when she got in they were close to capacity. Pretty solid investment for little upkeep.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Pharmacy deserts

I saw this term for the first time this morning on my local news talking about the exact same thing with CVS & Walgreens closing locations locally. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to either of those stores in the past 5 years. Every grocery store near me has a built-in pharmacy, and my phone and tv are filled with commercials for online pharmacies to ship to my door. Just seems like yet another evolution of brick and mortar retail getting buried by progress.

I've recently seen an add from Amazon that they have online healthcare visits available with facetime doctors that will provide you a prescription should you have a sinus infection etc. Now we're cutting out local doctors with our online convivence. The times they are a changin'.

This might not be a bad thing, given the shortage of primary care providers. I’m sure it will lead to a lot of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions though. Wonder what their policy on opioids is?

Exactly. Our health system has witnessed a ton of growth in our video and e-visits... cheap set prices, quick and convenient access, and all the care you need for basic conditions. Which has really helped given our over-stretched ERs, fairly full urgent cares, and our very limited access in primary care.

It took me a year when I moved to get in to see a new PCP. Now that was just for a physical, I assume if I was sick I could have gotten in to see someone sooner. And the only hospital in Eugene closed last year (there are two in the next town over). The whole system just seems stretched so thin.

That said, I've used telehealth a few times in the past couple of years, most recently when I had Covid. Took about 20 minutes from starting the process until he was on the call. Showed him my positive test, and he prescribed paxlovid and albuterol.

General physical exams in people without symptoms have never been shown to promote any positive health outcome. If you have specific complaints and/or some chronic health problems, different story. But “routine” physicals are mostly medical theater.

 

[SFBayDuck]

General physical exams in people without symptoms have never been shown to promote any positive health outcome. If you have specific complaints and/or some chronic health problems, different story. But “routine” physicals are mostly medical theater.

But he spent a total of 5 minutes with me! "Do you smoke? Do you drink? Do you use drugs? Do you have sex with multiple partners?" Literally the only things he asked me. Nothing about diet, exercise, or any other lifestyle aspects. Then he ordered a blood panel and a colonoscopy, and off he went.

 

[HomerSimpson]

I've often wondered why we need so much self-storage. Looks like I'm not the only one to notice how many of these places there are. I just like to imagine that they're all filled with giant piles of meth money.

I hear it's a cheap passive investment, for people who want to start up a starter business someplace that is zoned for "Business". Personally I am not a Hoarder, when I think my house is getting full, I don't need a storage unit. I'm hittin the dump.

We have a bunch in my area but we also have a growing community of folks transitioning here from all over (I live near Charlotte, NC). My daughter recently had to store a bunch of her stuff due to a divorce so rented a spot in a newer building (probably 2 years old?). It was half the rent of all the other places in town ($110 vs $200 a month for same space). This facility is on the outskirts of town but still all of a 15 minute drive instead of 10 minutes. Last month she gets a notice the place had been sold and her rent is going up to $150/mth for a large living room type space that isn't climate controlled. This place is 3 stories, lotta space and when she got in they were close to capacity. Pretty solid investment for little upkeep.

Yeah, they are all over here too. My girlfriend has one. She stores all the equipment for her small pop up business in there. So I get the need, but they are EVERYWHERE.

 

[Softballguy]

Pharmacy deserts

I saw this term for the first time this morning on my local news talking about the exact same thing with CVS & Walgreens closing locations locally. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to either of those stores in the past 5 years. Every grocery store near me has a built-in pharmacy, and my phone and tv are filled with commercials for online pharmacies to ship to my door. Just seems like yet another evolution of brick and mortar retail getting buried by progress.

I've recently seen an add from Amazon that they have online healthcare visits available with facetime doctors that will provide you a prescription should you have a sinus infection etc. Now we're cutting out local doctors with our online convivence. The times they are a changin'.

This might not be a bad thing, given the shortage of primary care providers. I’m sure it will lead to a lot of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions though. Wonder what their policy on opioids is?

Exactly. Our health system has witnessed a ton of growth in our video and e-visits... cheap set prices, quick and convenient access, and all the care you need for basic conditions. Which has really helped given our over-stretched ERs, fairly full urgent cares, and our very limited access in primary care.

It took me a year when I moved to get in to see a new PCP. Now that was just for a physical, I assume if I was sick I could have gotten in to see someone sooner. And the only hospital in Eugene closed last year (there are two in the next town over). The whole system just seems stretched so thin.

That said, I've used telehealth a few times in the past couple of years, most recently when I had Covid. Took about 20 minutes from starting the process until he was on the call. Showed him my positive test, and he prescribed paxlovid and albuterol.

General physical exams in people without symptoms have never been shown to promote any positive health outcome. If you have specific complaints and/or some chronic health problems, different story. But “routine” physicals are mostly medical theater.

I'd be really curious to hear more about this. My insurance requires me to get a physical each year (which is probably tied to the contract with the health system), and scheduling your wellness visit is something we message a ton to the community. Any suggested reading?

 

[culdeus]

Speaking of urgent cares, they are giving banks a run for the money for the number of locations. These things are popping up everywhere.

I like to spend my days going to Urgent Care and then heading next door to Starbucks, where I grab a coffee before hitting the car wash and storage unit facility next door.

Same where I live, massive overbuilding in all four of these spaces: coffee, self-storage, anything auto, and hospital/urgent care (which is ironic given the massive shortages in labor for nursing and doctors). Same with giant multi-family apartment complexes, popping up everywhere.

One thing I also don't like is that hedge funds and other large corps are getting heavily into veterinary care and dentistry. Buying up the small moms and pops and jacking up prices.

Hedge funds are buying up landscaping companies now. Good grief.

Car washes too. And mobile car service.

 

[NutterButter]

Pharmacy deserts

I saw this term for the first time this morning on my local news talking about the exact same thing with CVS & Walgreens closing locations locally. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to either of those stores in the past 5 years. Every grocery store near me has a built-in pharmacy, and my phone and tv are filled with commercials for online pharmacies to ship to my door. Just seems like yet another evolution of brick and mortar retail getting buried by progress.

I've recently seen an add from Amazon that they have online healthcare visits available with facetime doctors that will provide you a prescription should you have a sinus infection etc. Now we're cutting out local doctors with our online convivence. The times they are a changin'.

This might not be a bad thing, given the shortage of primary care providers. I’m sure it will lead to a lot of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions though. Wonder what their policy on opioids is?

Exactly. Our health system has witnessed a ton of growth in our video and e-visits... cheap set prices, quick and convenient access, and all the care you need for basic conditions. Which has really helped given our over-stretched ERs, fairly full urgent cares, and our very limited access in primary care.

It took me a year when I moved to get in to see a new PCP. Now that was just for a physical, I assume if I was sick I could have gotten in to see someone sooner. And the only hospital in Eugene closed last year (there are two in the next town over). The whole system just seems stretched so thin.

That said, I've used telehealth a few times in the past couple of years, most recently when I had Covid. Took about 20 minutes from starting the process until he was on the call. Showed him my positive test, and he prescribed paxlovid and albuterol.

General physical exams in people without symptoms have never been shown to promote any positive health outcome. If you have specific complaints and/or some chronic health problems, different story. But “routine” physicals are mostly medical theater.

One of these years, that finger is gonna find something. I just know it. And then it will all be worth it.

 

[massraider]

Yeah, they are all over here too. My girlfriend has one. She stores all the equipment for her small pop up business in there. So I get the need, but they are EVERYWHERE

Hoarding crap is an epidemic in this country.

I think so, anyway. Hope it ain't just my mum

 

[Terminalxylem]

Speaking of urgent cares, they are giving banks a run for the money for the number of locations. These things are popping up everywhere.

Free standing ERs are the cash cow.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Speaking of urgent cares, they are giving banks a run for the money for the number of locations. These things are popping up everywhere.

I like to spend my days going to Urgent Care and then heading next door to Starbucks, where I grab a coffee before hitting the car wash and storage unit facility next door.

Same where I live, massive overbuilding in all four of these spaces: coffee, self-storage, anything auto, and hospital/urgent care (which is ironic given the massive shortages in labor for nursing and doctors). Same with giant multi-family apartment complexes, popping up everywhere.

One thing I also don't like is that hedge funds and other large corps are getting heavily into veterinary care and dentistry. Buying up the small moms and pops and jacking up prices.

Private equity firms are also getting involved with medical care, and it (surprise!) isn’t improving the quality.

 

[Buckna]

I've often wondered why we need so much self-storage. Looks like I'm not the only one to notice how many of these places there are. I just like to imagine that they're all filled with giant piles of meth money.

I hear it's a cheap passive investment, for people who want to start up a starter business someplace that is zoned for "Business". Personally I am not a Hoarder, when I think my house is getting full, I don't need a storage unit. I'm hittin the dump.

We have a bunch in my area but we also have a growing community of folks transitioning here from all over (I live near Charlotte, NC). My daughter recently had to store a bunch of her stuff due to a divorce so rented a spot in a newer building (probably 2 years old?). It was half the rent of all the other places in town ($110 vs $200 a month for same space). This facility is on the outskirts of town but still all of a 15 minute drive instead of 10 minutes. Last month she gets a notice the place had been sold and her rent is going up to $150/mth for a large living room type space that isn't climate controlled. This place is 3 stories, lotta space and when she got in they were close to capacity. Pretty solid investment for little upkeep.

Yeah, they are all over here too. My girlfriend has one. She stores all the equipment for her small pop up business in there. So I get the need, but they are EVERYWHERE.

Self-storage has been one of the “hot” investing trends for a number of years now. Next to no overhead or maintenance, people would rather pay a monthly fee than get rid of their worthless crap. Like gym’s they rely on it being too much of a pain or hoop to jump thru to cancel a contract. Price shopping is non-existent once they hook you too. Who’s going to load up a few trailers or a truck and have to move your stuff just to save a few bucks a month at a cheaper location or if the monthly fee gets raised.

But like a lot of things, too many investing dollars chasing ever decreasing returns now. Going to be a lot of mostly empty storage facilities in the near future because of overbuilding.

 

[The Z Machine]

I've often wondered why we need so much self-storage. Looks like I'm not the only one to notice how many of these places there are. I just like to imagine that they're all filled with giant piles of meth money.

I hear it's a cheap passive investment, for people who want to start up a starter business someplace that is zoned for "Business". Personally I am not a Hoarder, when I think my house is getting full, I don't need a storage unit. I'm hittin the dump.

We have a bunch in my area but we also have a growing community of folks transitioning here from all over (I live near Charlotte, NC). My daughter recently had to store a bunch of her stuff due to a divorce so rented a spot in a newer building (probably 2 years old?). It was half the rent of all the other places in town ($110 vs $200 a month for same space). This facility is on the outskirts of town but still all of a 15 minute drive instead of 10 minutes. Last month she gets a notice the place had been sold and her rent is going up to $150/mth for a large living room type space that isn't climate controlled. This place is 3 stories, lotta space and when she got in they were close to capacity. Pretty solid investment for little upkeep.

Yeah, they are all over here too. My girlfriend has one. She stores all the equipment for her small pop up business in there. So I get the need, but they are EVERYWHERE.

Self-storage has been one of the “hot” investing trends for a number of years now. Next to no overhead or maintenance, people would rather pay a monthly fee than get rid of their worthless crap. Like gym’s they rely on it being too much of a pain or hoop to jump thru to cancel a contract. Price shopping is non-existent once they hook you too. Who’s going to load up a few trailers or a truck and have to move your stuff just to save a few bucks a month at a cheaper location or if the monthly fee gets raised.

But like a lot of things, too many investing dollars chasing ever decreasing returns now. Going to be a lot of mostly empty storage facilities in the near future because of overbuilding.

Time to get in the biz of converting those storage places into co-working spaces!

 

[NutterButter]

I've often wondered why we need so much self-storage. Looks like I'm not the only one to notice how many of these places there are. I just like to imagine that they're all filled with giant piles of meth money.

I hear it's a cheap passive investment, for people who want to start up a starter business someplace that is zoned for "Business". Personally I am not a Hoarder, when I think my house is getting full, I don't need a storage unit. I'm hittin the dump.

We have a bunch in my area but we also have a growing community of folks transitioning here from all over (I live near Charlotte, NC). My daughter recently had to store a bunch of her stuff due to a divorce so rented a spot in a newer building (probably 2 years old?). It was half the rent of all the other places in town ($110 vs $200 a month for same space). This facility is on the outskirts of town but still all of a 15 minute drive instead of 10 minutes. Last month she gets a notice the place had been sold and her rent is going up to $150/mth for a large living room type space that isn't climate controlled. This place is 3 stories, lotta space and when she got in they were close to capacity. Pretty solid investment for little upkeep.

Yeah, they are all over here too. My girlfriend has one. She stores all the equipment for her small pop up business in there. So I get the need, but they are EVERYWHERE.

Self-storage has been one of the “hot” investing trends for a number of years now. Next to no overhead or maintenance, people would rather pay a monthly fee than get rid of their worthless crap. Like gym’s they rely on it being too much of a pain or hoop to jump thru to cancel a contract. Price shopping is non-existent once they hook you too. Who’s going to load up a few trailers or a truck and have to move your stuff just to save a few bucks a month at a cheaper location or if the monthly fee gets raised.

But like a lot of things, too many investing dollars chasing ever decreasing returns now. Going to be a lot of mostly empty storage facilities in the near future because of overbuilding.

Time to get in the biz of converting those storage places into co-working spaces!

That's still a thing? I thought that had its moment.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Pharmacy deserts

I saw this term for the first time this morning on my local news talking about the exact same thing with CVS & Walgreens closing locations locally. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to either of those stores in the past 5 years. Every grocery store near me has a built-in pharmacy, and my phone and tv are filled with commercials for online pharmacies to ship to my door. Just seems like yet another evolution of brick and mortar retail getting buried by progress.

I've recently seen an add from Amazon that they have online healthcare visits available with facetime doctors that will provide you a prescription should you have a sinus infection etc. Now we're cutting out local doctors with our online convivence. The times they are a changin'.

This might not be a bad thing, given the shortage of primary care providers. I’m sure it will lead to a lot of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions though. Wonder what their policy on opioids is?

Exactly. Our health system has witnessed a ton of growth in our video and e-visits... cheap set prices, quick and convenient access, and all the care you need for basic conditions. Which has really helped given our over-stretched ERs, fairly full urgent cares, and our very limited access in primary care.

It took me a year when I moved to get in to see a new PCP. Now that was just for a physical, I assume if I was sick I could have gotten in to see someone sooner. And the only hospital in Eugene closed last year (there are two in the next town over). The whole system just seems stretched so thin.

That said, I've used telehealth a few times in the past couple of years, most recently when I had Covid. Took about 20 minutes from starting the process until he was on the call. Showed him my positive test, and he prescribed paxlovid and albuterol.

General physical exams in people without symptoms have never been shown to promote any positive health outcome. If you have specific complaints and/or some chronic health problems, different story. But “routine” physicals are mostly medical theater.

I'd be really curious to hear more about this. My insurance requires me to get a physical each year (which is probably tied to the contract with the health system), and scheduling your wellness visit is something we message a ton to the community. Any suggested reading?

This is a little old, but I can assure you, there isn’t much changing in the science of physical examination.

• Comprehensive routine physical examinations are not recommended for the asymptomatic adult, although many patients and physicians continue to endorse the practice.
• Components of the physical examination recommended for the asymptomatic adult include:
  ◦
  blood pressure screening every 1-2 years
  ◦
  periodic measurement of body mass index ***EVERY FBG’s FAVORITE***
  ◦
  PAP smears beginning at age 21 for sexually active women with a cervix every 3 years up to the age of 65.
• There is some evidence that designating a specific visit for the provision of preventive services may increase the likelihood that patients will receive PAP smears, cholesterol screening and fecal occult blood testing.

Even when people are symptomatic, physical exams ain’t great. JAMA did a series several years ago looking at its sensitivity in different contexts, the Rational Clinical Examination. The articles are blocked by paywall, but the general theme they found was: much of the stuff doctors do is unnecessary, based more on tradition than evidence.

 

[RCon]

Private equity firms are also getting involved with medical care, and it (surprise!) isn’t improving the quality.

More like eviscerating the quality while jacking up the price.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Pharmacy deserts

I saw this term for the first time this morning on my local news talking about the exact same thing with CVS & Walgreens closing locations locally. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to either of those stores in the past 5 years. Every grocery store near me has a built-in pharmacy, and my phone and tv are filled with commercials for online pharmacies to ship to my door. Just seems like yet another evolution of brick and mortar retail getting buried by progress.

I've recently seen an add from Amazon that they have online healthcare visits available with facetime doctors that will provide you a prescription should you have a sinus infection etc. Now we're cutting out local doctors with our online convivence. The times they are a changin'.

This might not be a bad thing, given the shortage of primary care providers. I’m sure it will lead to a lot of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions though. Wonder what their policy on opioids is?

Exactly. Our health system has witnessed a ton of growth in our video and e-visits... cheap set prices, quick and convenient access, and all the care you need for basic conditions. Which has really helped given our over-stretched ERs, fairly full urgent cares, and our very limited access in primary care.

It took me a year when I moved to get in to see a new PCP. Now that was just for a physical, I assume if I was sick I could have gotten in to see someone sooner. And the only hospital in Eugene closed last year (there are two in the next town over). The whole system just seems stretched so thin.

That said, I've used telehealth a few times in the past couple of years, most recently when I had Covid. Took about 20 minutes from starting the process until he was on the call. Showed him my positive test, and he prescribed paxlovid and albuterol.

General physical exams in people without symptoms have never been shown to promote any positive health outcome. If you have specific complaints and/or some chronic health problems, different story. But “routine” physicals are mostly medical theater.

One of these years, that finger is gonna find something. I just know it. And then it will all be worth it.

You’re joking, I know, but FTR:

Digital Rectal Examination (DRE). The evidence for performing a DRE for screening for either rectal or prostate cancer was deemed to be insufficient by Oboler and LaForce (table 2). No studies have assessed the benefits and harms of the DRE for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and no major organization (VA, USPSTF, American College of Physicians, American Cancer Society) recommends it. The 2008 USPSTF recommendations evaluated several procedures for CRC screening. The DRE was not considered as an option.

Currently, the majority of prostate cancers are found by screening with the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, which has been given an “insufficient evidence” rating by the USPSTF for men younger than 75 years of age and a recommendation against screening for men age 75 years and older. No screening or treatment trials have adequately assessed the benefits and harms of the DRE for prostate cancer screening in the absence of other procedures (i.e. PSA testing). Moreover, no screening trials, most of which relied primarily on PSA testing, have shown a reduction in prostate cancer or overall mortality. One randomized screening trial in the US specifically included annual DRE with PSA testing. Among men assigned to 6 annual rounds of PSA screening that included 4 rounds of DRE there was no reduction in prostate cancer mortality through 10 years of follow-up compared to men assigned to usual care (Andriole 2009).

 

[Terminalxylem]

I've often wondered why we need so much self-storage. Looks like I'm not the only one to notice how many of these places there are. I just like to imagine that they're all filled with giant piles of meth money.

I hear it's a cheap passive investment, for people who want to start up a starter business someplace that is zoned for "Business". Personally I am not a Hoarder, when I think my house is getting full, I don't need a storage unit. I'm hittin the dump.

We have a bunch in my area but we also have a growing community of folks transitioning here from all over (I live near Charlotte, NC). My daughter recently had to store a bunch of her stuff due to a divorce so rented a spot in a newer building (probably 2 years old?). It was half the rent of all the other places in town ($110 vs $200 a month for same space). This facility is on the outskirts of town but still all of a 15 minute drive instead of 10 minutes. Last month she gets a notice the place had been sold and her rent is going up to $150/mth for a large living room type space that isn't climate controlled. This place is 3 stories, lotta space and when she got in they were close to capacity. Pretty solid investment for little upkeep.

Yeah, they are all over here too. My girlfriend has one. She stores all the equipment for her small pop up business in there. So I get the need, but they are EVERYWHERE.

Self-storage has been one of the “hot” investing trends for a number of years now. Next to no overhead or maintenance, people would rather pay a monthly fee than get rid of their worthless crap. Like gym’s they rely on it being too much of a pain or hoop to jump thru to cancel a contract. Price shopping is non-existent once they hook you too. Who’s going to load up a few trailers or a truck and have to move your stuff just to save a few bucks a month at a cheaper location or if the monthly fee gets raised.

But like a lot of things, too many investing dollars chasing ever decreasing returns now. Going to be a lot of mostly empty storage facilities in the near future because of overbuilding.

Time to get in the biz of converting those storage places into co-working spaces!

Tiny homes

 

[FairWarning]

Speaking of urgent cares, they are giving banks a run for the money for the number of locations. These things are popping up everywhere.

I like to spend my days going to Urgent Care and then heading next door to Starbucks, where I grab a coffee before hitting the car wash and storage unit facility next door.

Same where I live, massive overbuilding in all four of these spaces: coffee, self-storage, anything auto, and hospital/urgent care (which is ironic given the massive shortages in labor for nursing and doctors). Same with giant multi-family apartment complexes, popping up everywhere.

One thing I also don't like is that hedge funds and other large corps are getting heavily into veterinary care and dentistry. Buying up the small moms and pops and jacking up prices.

Private equity firms are also getting involved with medical care, and it (surprise!) isn’t improving the quality.

I bet it’s improving the bottom line though.

 

[Sand]

I've often wondered why we need so much self-storage. Looks like I'm not the only one to notice how many of these places there are. I just like to imagine that they're all filled with giant piles of meth money.

I hear it's a cheap passive investment, for people who want to start up a starter business someplace that is zoned for "Business". Personally I am not a Hoarder, when I think my house is getting full, I don't need a storage unit. I'm hittin the dump.

We have a bunch in my area but we also have a growing community of folks transitioning here from all over (I live near Charlotte, NC). My daughter recently had to store a bunch of her stuff due to a divorce so rented a spot in a newer building (probably 2 years old?). It was half the rent of all the other places in town ($110 vs $200 a month for same space). This facility is on the outskirts of town but still all of a 15 minute drive instead of 10 minutes. Last month she gets a notice the place had been sold and her rent is going up to $150/mth for a large living room type space that isn't climate controlled. This place is 3 stories, lotta space and when she got in they were close to capacity. Pretty solid investment for little upkeep.

Yeah, they are all over here too. My girlfriend has one. She stores all the equipment for her small pop up business in there. So I get the need, but they are EVERYWHERE.

Self-storage has been one of the “hot” investing trends for a number of years now. Next to no overhead or maintenance, people would rather pay a monthly fee than get rid of their worthless crap. Like gym’s they rely on it being too much of a pain or hoop to jump thru to cancel a contract. Price shopping is non-existent once they hook you too. Who’s going to load up a few trailers or a truck and have to move your stuff just to save a few bucks a month at a cheaper location or if the monthly fee gets raised.

But like a lot of things, too many investing dollars chasing ever decreasing returns now. Going to be a lot of mostly empty storage facilities in the near future because of overbuilding.

Time to get in the biz of converting those storage places into co-working spaces!

Awesome. We should make a company out of that. "WeWork" has a nice ring to it!

falling out of the sky with this idea, folks.

 

[Runkle]

I've often wondered why we need so much self-storage. Looks like I'm not the only one to notice how many of these places there are. I just like to imagine that they're all filled with giant piles of meth money.

I hear it's a cheap passive investment, for people who want to start up a starter business someplace that is zoned for "Business". Personally I am not a Hoarder, when I think my house is getting full, I don't need a storage unit. I'm hittin the dump.

We have a bunch in my area but we also have a growing community of folks transitioning here from all over (I live near Charlotte, NC). My daughter recently had to store a bunch of her stuff due to a divorce so rented a spot in a newer building (probably 2 years old?). It was half the rent of all the other places in town ($110 vs $200 a month for same space). This facility is on the outskirts of town but still all of a 15 minute drive instead of 10 minutes. Last month she gets a notice the place had been sold and her rent is going up to $150/mth for a large living room type space that isn't climate controlled. This place is 3 stories, lotta space and when she got in they were close to capacity. Pretty solid investment for little upkeep.

Yeah, they are all over here too. My girlfriend has one. She stores all the equipment for her small pop up business in there. So I get the need, but they are EVERYWHERE.

Self-storage has been one of the “hot” investing trends for a number of years now. Next to no overhead or maintenance, people would rather pay a monthly fee than get rid of their worthless crap. Like gym’s they rely on it being too much of a pain or hoop to jump thru to cancel a contract. Price shopping is non-existent once they hook you too. Who’s going to load up a few trailers or a truck and have to move your stuff just to save a few bucks a month at a cheaper location or if the monthly fee gets raised.

But like a lot of things, too many investing dollars chasing ever decreasing returns now. Going to be a lot of mostly empty storage facilities in the near future because of overbuilding.

I believe it was either Freakanomics or 99% Invisible that had a recent podcast episode about storage unit businesses.

Long story short, they are "placeholder" businesses.

Someone identifies an improving or gentrifying area, and wants to make a speculative real estate investment on cheap land. That investment, in terms of just the real estate, could take decades to really pay off. In the meantime, might as well earn some passive income from the land to pay the property taxes and get some cash flow while waiting for the neighborhood to zone up enough for the eventual Whole Foods/Trader Joes/Equinox Gym/high-income-condo-complex/whatever to want to pay for a good location. So, they put in a storage facility. There is demand, especially as a place gentrifies. There is cash flow. There is minimal maintenance or overhead, it's literally just empty space. And they don't care if it's half unused or not profitable... the land under it just has to keep appreciating. As long as the dirt it sits on doesn't lose value, the storage unit facility itself is immaterial.

So if you see a ton of storage facilities popping up and spreading, it might mean the real estate speculators are making their first forays into a new development. New ones will be built on the fringes of appreciating areas, and the older ones will eventually be sold out to be torn down and rebuilt into high-end retail or residential once the price is right.

 

[SoBeDad]

The articles are blocked by paywall, but the general theme they found was: much of the stuff doctors do is unnecessary, based more on tradition than evidence.

That can't be true for blood pressure measurements, right?

 

[Buckna]

I've often wondered why we need so much self-storage. Looks like I'm not the only one to notice how many of these places there are. I just like to imagine that they're all filled with giant piles of meth money.

I hear it's a cheap passive investment, for people who want to start up a starter business someplace that is zoned for "Business". Personally I am not a Hoarder, when I think my house is getting full, I don't need a storage unit. I'm hittin the dump.

We have a bunch in my area but we also have a growing community of folks transitioning here from all over (I live near Charlotte, NC). My daughter recently had to store a bunch of her stuff due to a divorce so rented a spot in a newer building (probably 2 years old?). It was half the rent of all the other places in town ($110 vs $200 a month for same space). This facility is on the outskirts of town but still all of a 15 minute drive instead of 10 minutes. Last month she gets a notice the place had been sold and her rent is going up to $150/mth for a large living room type space that isn't climate controlled. This place is 3 stories, lotta space and when she got in they were close to capacity. Pretty solid investment for little upkeep.

Yeah, they are all over here too. My girlfriend has one. She stores all the equipment for her small pop up business in there. So I get the need, but they are EVERYWHERE.

Self-storage has been one of the “hot” investing trends for a number of years now. Next to no overhead or maintenance, people would rather pay a monthly fee than get rid of their worthless crap. Like gym’s they rely on it being too much of a pain or hoop to jump thru to cancel a contract. Price shopping is non-existent once they hook you too. Who’s going to load up a few trailers or a truck and have to move your stuff just to save a few bucks a month at a cheaper location or if the monthly fee gets raised.

But like a lot of things, too many investing dollars chasing ever decreasing returns now. Going to be a lot of mostly empty storage facilities in the near future because of overbuilding.

I believe it was either Freakanomics or 99% Invisible that had a recent podcast episode about storage unit businesses.

Long story short, they are "placeholder" businesses.

Someone identifies an improving or gentrifying area, and wants to make a speculative real estate investment on cheap land. That investment, in terms of just the real estate, could take decades to really pay off. In the meantime, might as well earn some passive income from the land to pay the property taxes and get some cash flow while waiting for the neighborhood to zone up enough for the eventual Whole Foods/Trader Joes/Equinox Gym/high-income-condo-complex/whatever to want to pay for a good location. So, they put in a storage facility. There is demand, especially as a place gentrifies. There is cash flow. There is minimal maintenance or overhead, it's literally just empty space. And they don't care if it's half unused or not profitable... the land under it just has to keep appreciating. As long as the dirt it sits on doesn't lose value, the storage unit facility itself is immaterial.

So if you see a ton of storage facilities popping up and spreading, it might mean the real estate speculators are making their first forays into a new development. New ones will be built on the fringes of appreciating areas, and the older ones will eventually be sold out to be torn down and rebuilt into high-end retail or residential once the price is right.

I’ll have to track down that episode, it certainly makes a lot of sense on the surface (parking lots are another good example of this.) Path of development has a lot of factors and is a common and successful concept tons of people follow and have used forever in commercial development. But I typically don’t ever see the redevelopment or conversion of these lots in my experience though. In these types of examples you’re going to spend too much removing the existing structure and then have to pay a boatload for utilities and connection costs. Once its storage, it generally stays storage IMO.

Though the area I live in, rezoning is a PITA and likely impacts that compared to wide open places like Florida and Texas. At least where I am, most will just leave it dirt until time to build because repurposing, rezoning, repermitting is a slog.

 

[Chicago Hooligan]

Private equity firms are also getting involved with medical care, and it (surprise!) isn’t improving the quality.

More like eviscerating the quality while jacking up the price.

tfw capitalism "breeds innovation"

 

[Runkle]

I've often wondered why we need so much self-storage. Looks like I'm not the only one to notice how many of these places there are. I just like to imagine that they're all filled with giant piles of meth money.

I hear it's a cheap passive investment, for people who want to start up a starter business someplace that is zoned for "Business". Personally I am not a Hoarder, when I think my house is getting full, I don't need a storage unit. I'm hittin the dump.

We have a bunch in my area but we also have a growing community of folks transitioning here from all over (I live near Charlotte, NC). My daughter recently had to store a bunch of her stuff due to a divorce so rented a spot in a newer building (probably 2 years old?). It was half the rent of all the other places in town ($110 vs $200 a month for same space). This facility is on the outskirts of town but still all of a 15 minute drive instead of 10 minutes. Last month she gets a notice the place had been sold and her rent is going up to $150/mth for a large living room type space that isn't climate controlled. This place is 3 stories, lotta space and when she got in they were close to capacity. Pretty solid investment for little upkeep.

Yeah, they are all over here too. My girlfriend has one. She stores all the equipment for her small pop up business in there. So I get the need, but they are EVERYWHERE.

Self-storage has been one of the “hot” investing trends for a number of years now. Next to no overhead or maintenance, people would rather pay a monthly fee than get rid of their worthless crap. Like gym’s they rely on it being too much of a pain or hoop to jump thru to cancel a contract. Price shopping is non-existent once they hook you too. Who’s going to load up a few trailers or a truck and have to move your stuff just to save a few bucks a month at a cheaper location or if the monthly fee gets raised.

But like a lot of things, too many investing dollars chasing ever decreasing returns now. Going to be a lot of mostly empty storage facilities in the near future because of overbuilding.

I believe it was either Freakanomics or 99% Invisible that had a recent podcast episode about storage unit businesses.

Long story short, they are "placeholder" businesses.

Someone identifies an improving or gentrifying area, and wants to make a speculative real estate investment on cheap land. That investment, in terms of just the real estate, could take decades to really pay off. In the meantime, might as well earn some passive income from the land to pay the property taxes and get some cash flow while waiting for the neighborhood to zone up enough for the eventual Whole Foods/Trader Joes/Equinox Gym/high-income-condo-complex/whatever to want to pay for a good location. So, they put in a storage facility. There is demand, especially as a place gentrifies. There is cash flow. There is minimal maintenance or overhead, it's literally just empty space. And they don't care if it's half unused or not profitable... the land under it just has to keep appreciating. As long as the dirt it sits on doesn't lose value, the storage unit facility itself is immaterial.

So if you see a ton of storage facilities popping up and spreading, it might mean the real estate speculators are making their first forays into a new development. New ones will be built on the fringes of appreciating areas, and the older ones will eventually be sold out to be torn down and rebuilt into high-end retail or residential once the price is right.

I’ll have to track down that episode, it certainly makes a lot of sense on the surface (parking lots are another good example of this.) Path of development has a lot of factors and is a common and successful concept tons of people follow and have used forever in commercial development. But I typically don’t ever see the redevelopment or conversion of these lots in my experience though. In these types of examples you’re going to spend too much removing the existing structure and then have to pay a boatload for utilities and connection costs. Once its storage, it generally stays storage IMO.

Though the area I live in, rezoning is a PITA and likely impacts that compared to wide open places like Florida and Texas. At least where I am, most will just leave it dirt until time to build because repurposing, rezoning, repermitting is a slog.

Right, it is a speculation. If the area doesn't gentrify into the next Beverly Hills, you just end up with a profitable, easy to run, high demand, high cash flow business as a fallback.

 

[Terminalxylem]

The articles are blocked by paywall, but the general theme they found was: much of the stuff doctors do is unnecessary, based more on tradition than evidence.

That can't be true for blood pressure measurements, right?

The review I linked notes utility in BP screening every 1-2 years. But that isn’t what I am talking about.

I’m referring to the whole dog and pony show of physical exams: listening to the heart and lungs, pressing on the belly, feeling pulses, etc. Certainly digital rectal exams. None of that promotes health.

Targeted physicals based on symptoms and some screening tests, including blood pressure measurements, make a difference. Routine physicals don’t. Same goes for yearly bloodwork.

Don’t get me wrong, our healthcare system is abysmal at preventative care. But ceremonial exams and over testing aren’t the answer,

 

[NutterButter]

Just booked my next physical. Term's endorsement inspired me. Lol. I need to go once a year regardless to get my hair loss meds so figure do it with the free physical rather than pay the copay otherwise. Next spot is in April. Geesh. Apparently a lot of folks are being fooled.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

The articles are blocked by paywall, but the general theme they found was: much of the stuff doctors do is unnecessary, based more on tradition than evidence.

That can't be true for blood pressure measurements, right?

The review I linked notes utility in BP screening every 1-2 years. But that isn’t what I am talking about.

I’m referring to the whole dog and pony show of physical exams: listening to the heart and lungs, pressing on the belly, feeling pulses, etc. Certainly digital rectal exams. None of that promotes health.

Targeted physicals based on symptoms and some screening tests, including blood pressure measurements, make a difference. Routine physicals don’t. Same goes for yearly bloodwork.

Don’t get me wrong, our healthcare system is abysmal at preventative care. But ceremonial exams and over testing aren’t the answer,

I have no knowledge on this, but I find this point interesting given that most insurers will pay for physicals, and even encourage them. Surely they have a huge team of actuaries calculating down the dollar how much it saves them or costs them to do this, and if they're still offering it, it would seem they've decided that it saves them money in the long run.

 

[Terminalxylem]

The articles are blocked by paywall, but the general theme they found was: much of the stuff doctors do is unnecessary, based more on tradition than evidence.

That can't be true for blood pressure measurements, right?

The review I linked notes utility in BP screening every 1-2 years. But that isn’t what I am talking about.

I’m referring to the whole dog and pony show of physical exams: listening to the heart and lungs, pressing on the belly, feeling pulses, etc. Certainly digital rectal exams. None of that promotes health.

Targeted physicals based on symptoms and some screening tests, including blood pressure measurements, make a difference. Routine physicals don’t. Same goes for yearly bloodwork.

Don’t get me wrong, our healthcare system is abysmal at preventative care. But ceremonial exams and over testing aren’t the answer,

I have no knowledge on this, but I find this point interesting given that most insurers will pay for physicals, and even encourage them. Surely they have a huge team of actuaries calculating down the dollar how much it saves them or costs them to do this, and if they're still offering it, it would seem they've decided that it saves them money in the long run.

Don’t know what to tell you. Feel free to look up the evidence.

I guess it’s possible there is actuarial value in periodically seeing a doctor, even if the exam itself is worthless.

I’ll also remind you the US has the most expensive healthcare in the world, but far from the best outcomes. So maybe the bean counters are targeting the wrong metrics (eg. financial profit over disease prevention/mortality).

 

[Terminalxylem]

Just booked my next physical. Term's endorsement inspired me. Lol. I need to go once a year regardless to get my hair loss meds so figure do it with the free physical rather than pay the copay otherwise. Next spot is in April. Geesh. Apparently a lot of folks are being fooled.

Enjoy your prostate exam.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

I guess it’s possible there is actuarial value in periodically seeing a doctor, even if the exam itself is worthless.

Selection bias IMO. People who see doctors almost certainly take better care of themselves than people who don't.

 

[Max Power]

And then you turn on the television, and Boeing has astronauts stranded in space. Wow, that's weird. Good thing we have NASA. They'll figure this out.
And NASA couldn't figure it out either.
Yes, we eventually got them back in one piece. But what the hell?

I don't believe those astronauts are back to earth yet. They're scheduled to return in February in a different vehicle than the Boeing one.

They got back this morning

 

[beer 30]

And then you turn on the television, and Boeing has astronauts stranded in space. Wow, that's weird. Good thing we have NASA. They'll figure this out.
And NASA couldn't figure it out either.
Yes, we eventually got them back in one piece. But what the hell?

I don't believe those astronauts are back to earth yet. They're scheduled to return in February in a different vehicle than the Boeing one.

They got back this morning

That's a nice Christmas present. All I heard was February. Yeah Elon

 

[fatness]

And then you turn on the television, and Boeing has astronauts stranded in space. Wow, that's weird. Good thing we have NASA. They'll figure this out.
And NASA couldn't figure it out either.
Yes, we eventually got them back in one piece. But what the hell?

I don't believe those astronauts are back to earth yet. They're scheduled to return in February in a different vehicle than the Boeing one.

They got back this morning

That was 4 other astronauts, not the 2 left stranded by Boeing.

A SpaceX capsule just came back to Earth. Here’s why Boeing Starliner’s astronauts weren’t on it

 

[Max Power]

And then you turn on the television, and Boeing has astronauts stranded in space. Wow, that's weird. Good thing we have NASA. They'll figure this out.
And NASA couldn't figure it out either.
Yes, we eventually got them back in one piece. But what the hell?

I don't believe those astronauts are back to earth yet. They're scheduled to return in February in a different vehicle than the Boeing one.

They got back this morning

That was 4 other astronauts, not the 2 left stranded by Boeing.

A SpaceX capsule just came back to Earth. Here’s why Boeing Starliner’s astronauts weren’t on it

Thats a bummer. The headline implied these were the astronauts stranded by the Boeing delays.

 

[beer 30]

And then you turn on the television, and Boeing has astronauts stranded in space. Wow, that's weird. Good thing we have NASA. They'll figure this out.
And NASA couldn't figure it out either.
Yes, we eventually got them back in one piece. But what the hell?

I don't believe those astronauts are back to earth yet. They're scheduled to return in February in a different vehicle than the Boeing one.

They got back this morning

That was 4 other astronauts, not the 2 left stranded by Boeing.

A SpaceX capsule just came back to Earth. Here’s why Boeing Starliner’s astronauts weren’t on it

I am sad

 

[JAA]

Sa this article today. It outlines well what I and others here have pointed out regarding wealth accumulation and proportions.

I can def see a huge uptick in labor protections like we saw in the original gilded age: https://abcnews.go.com/US/experts-gilded-age/story?id=115067246

 

[fatness]

I am sad

Well the good news is that we can still get astronauts back safely from the space station. The 2 Starliner astronauts are still scheduled to come back in February.

 

[Max Power]

U.S. Added Just 12K Jobs in October, Far Short of 113K Expected​

U.S. Added Just 12K Jobs in October, Far Short of 113K Expected

Just days ahead of the U.S. presidential election and Federal Reserve policy meeting, the government reported a marked weakening in the labor mark...

markets.businessinsider.com

The September report was revised down 31k jobs and August revised down 81k. This makes 7 of the last 9 months BLS has revised the job numbers down.

 

[Nugget]

U.S. Added Just 12K Jobs in October, Far Short of 113K Expected​

U.S. Added Just 12K Jobs in October, Far Short of 113K Expected

Just days ahead of the U.S. presidential election and Federal Reserve policy meeting, the government reported a marked weakening in the labor mark...

markets.businessinsider.com

The September report was revised down 31k jobs and August revised down 81k. This makes 7 of the last 9 months BLS has revised the job numbers down.

The market seemed to shrug this off so far. I expected to see treasury rates drop at least some based on a possible slowdown, but both 2 and 10 year are creeping up. Quarter point drop next week for the fed?

 

[Max Power]

U.S. Added Just 12K Jobs in October, Far Short of 113K Expected​

U.S. Added Just 12K Jobs in October, Far Short of 113K Expected

Just days ahead of the U.S. presidential election and Federal Reserve policy meeting, the government reported a marked weakening in the labor mark...

markets.businessinsider.com

The September report was revised down 31k jobs and August revised down 81k. This makes 7 of the last 9 months BLS has revised the job numbers down.

The market seemed to shrug this off so far. I expected to see treasury rates drop at least some based on a possible slowdown, but both 2 and 10 year are creeping up. Quarter point drop next week for the fed?

Yep. I think its at 98% likelihood of a .25 drop.

 

[Scoresman]

Have to think the job market is waiting on the election to show where it really is, right?

 

[beer 30]

Have to think the job market is waiting on the election to show where it really is, right?

I think everything is

 

[Desert_Power]

Have to think the job market is waiting on the election to show where it really is, right?

I think everything is

The MOVE index is a good indicator to see some of this.

 

[MTskibum]

U.S. Added Just 12K Jobs in October, Far Short of 113K Expected​

U.S. Added Just 12K Jobs in October, Far Short of 113K Expected

Just days ahead of the U.S. presidential election and Federal Reserve policy meeting, the government reported a marked weakening in the labor mark...

markets.businessinsider.com

The September report was revised down 31k jobs and August revised down 81k. This makes 7 of the last 9 months BLS has revised the job numbers down.

The market seemed to shrug this off so far. I expected to see treasury rates drop at least some based on a possible slowdown, but both 2 and 10 year are creeping up. Quarter point drop next week for the fed?

My manager told us to expect whispers of people being laid off over the next few weeks.

Hopefully this downturn is not too bad.