Source unknownNot only are thousands without homes after August's Hurricane Harvey, but Moody Analytics now estimates that the storm has a price tag of some $73.5 billion in economic loss. Most of that damage was sustained in Harris County, Texas, which is primarily populated by Houston and its
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11/01/2017
Federal law from the beginning of time was that the US Government would provide postal service, and that private carriers could not compete. Whether or not it had worked efficiently is an opinion that's up for grabs. Federal Express could have never been invented had they not negotiated an excep
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10/28/2017
I've been unable to quickly track down when the U.S. realized that twelve years of education should be paid by taxpayers, not to continue to be the sole burden of the parents of school children. I do remember my grandmother telling me that she was beginning college before "free" education was app
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10/26/2017
For the majority of my real estate career, I have been interested in redeveloping small-town downtowns.I have taken the lead as the consultant in several.It's a tricky business, especially if you are close-minded to learning the reasons one is as it is, rather than assuming that you intuitively
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10/16/2017
When I was about 35, I worked with a Houston company that bought and developed real estate, and financed a good part of it by selling limited partner joint venture participations. Most of our clients were prominent Houston Jewish men. Although I'm an Episcopalian, I was often appointed to call
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10/08/2017
Photo Courtesy National Association of RealtorsI've been a Realtor for a long time, and I'll admit that I have never gone to a national or state Realtor convention. I'm not going this year either. If you are, you'll mark your calendar for a trip to Chicago for November 3rd through 6th. But just
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10/07/2017
The Law pf Diminishing Returns is a basic law of economics. It says that if one input in the production of a commodity is increased while all other inputs are held fixed, a point will eventually be reached at which additions of the input yield are smaller. The classic example is of a farmer who
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09/27/2017
Photo Courtesy of the New York Times. It is worry-some to me that there are those who feel that it is government's obligation to solve the problems of their poor judgment. The recent hurricanes are a good example. Owners chose to allow their homes and buildings to either be uninsured or under in
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09/23/2017
There is an English muffin that has been around for decades. The brand name is Thomas, although it is actually made by a bakery that makes many products. Its name is Bimbo. The world acknowledges that Thomas invented the English muffin. Over the years, many other bakeries have marketed their
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09/19/2017
In the mid-60s, I was an officer of a large savings and loan association. While branches in other parts of the State of Texas, the home office was in Galveston, where I lived and worked.In 1968, the US Government established the National Flood Insurance Program. Maps of the entire terrain of th
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09/08/2017
