During this year's
negotiations over 421 - a renewal, the assemblyman introduced legislation that would have required recipients of the tax break to pay these contractors a prevailing wage, a proposal critics derided
as unnecessary and counterproductive in an industry where workers are already paid substantially more than an average worker's
salary.
Louis and Ryan discuss the impact of the earthquake and tsunami on the world economy; inflation, interest rates, the Fed and Bank of Japan action and the U.S. budget
negotiations; the profile of home purchasers today; the paradox of government intervention to make «homes affordable for everyone»; the direction of the rental market, rent vs. buy ratios; the comparison of Fed action
during the Volker years vs the Bernanke era; Charlie Sheen, oil prices; the direction of the dollar and other currencies race to the bottom; the status of the dollar
as the world's reserve currency; the abandonment of the gold standard; the fate of fiat currencies; Utah's gold standard push; the actions states are taking to cut spending; the price of gold and silver and their role
as stores of value; real estate vs. gold and silver
as investments; the impact of shadow inventory on general inventory; the impact of the numbers of government workers and their
salaries on the D.C. area housing market.