Another hit for NYC

[BEAUSABRE]

CMStPnP

Regional Hubs centered on no state income tax or low tax states.    So they setup a regional hub already in New Jersey

`New Jersey is now a "low tax state"?

Excuse me while this resident of the Garden State succumbs to paroxysms of laughter.

"New Jersey was ranked as the seventh highest taxed state with an overall tax burden of 9.98% overall state tax, according to personal finance website WalletHub’s 2021 Tax Burden by State report."

New Jersey taxes are lower than New York's, but that's like the difference between fat and grossly obese. 

[daveklepper]

Israel's situation, my own estimates, pasted together from personal observation, reading sometimes conflicting reports, and some judgement about their accuracy.

About 70& of total population fully vaccinated, Ultra-Orthodox and children lagging behind.  Israeli Arabs ahead of the population in general, Arabs with just residency permits somewhat behind.

Public tranisit restored to normal or neat-normal in most areas; the few-exceptions seem to be ultra-Orthodox communities.  Intercity rail near normal, with network expanding.  For a few days, the mask requirement was dropped, but was restored.  Applies to staff and passengers.

At a low, only 0.5% of those tested, tested positive.  Now it is up to 3% iwth new cases going from 2 or 3 daily to 150-200.  So masks reimposed.

The inncrease has been blamed on sloppy implentation of examinations, restrictions, and paths for incoming visitors at Ben Gurion Airport,

[CMStPnP]

daveklepper

thanks for the  news and careful comment

So what are they doing in Isreal as far as changing the approach to work.   Is it shifting more to work at home like everywhere else or is it a mixture of stay in office work at home.    Seen any impacts to transit ridership there due to pandemic.    Here in the states they have cut frequencies from most transit systems or in some cases just shut them down.    I was really surprised they shut down the Chicago to Milwaukee Corridor to just the tri-weekly Empire Builder at one point.    Never been that bad before not even back in 1971.

[daveklepper]

thanks for the  news and careful comment

[CMStPnP]

So I read today the new workplace paradigm that Goldman Sachs is thinking of.    Regional Hubs centered on no state income tax or low tax states.    So they setup a regional hub already in New Jersey and that was their first, another one in South Florida,  for the third they are looking at......wait for it.........Dallas, TX.     Currently the rumor is they are looking for less than 1 million square feet and a campus type atmosphere.

So their feeling post pandemic is they can do better than NYC as far as cost of living while at the same time provide choices for employees that do not want to live in NYC.    They also seem to think they can pay someone in Dallas far less for the same work than they do in NYC because of the cost of living differential (good luck with that in this employment market......some dillusion here).     Anyways it spells bad news for NYC but they are still having their employees commute into the office vs work at home which is also kind of strange.

So far where I work they changed the dress code to include sneakers, jeans (in good taste), polos.     The younger employees were behind that change.   I think regular business casual was fine.    They seem to see a mixture of some staff that will be working from home but with a 20-30% spend in office requirement but they also say they are seeing a good chunk remaining at working in the office.   So this perspective differs from Goldman Sachs. 

So the jury is still out on the impacts for transit.    I think we are still going to have substantial numbers of folks still working in coporate office buildings.   Maybe 30-40% remote.    Now that might be the initial toe in the water, time will tell though.