Paradigm Shift

I’m NC Eakin and I write a blog called Genderqueer Fashionista over on Tumblr. I mostly write advice for people who are both fashion and gender curious. A word I come across very often in my writing and being part of the gender/queer community on Tumblr is the idea of androgyny.

First, to define what I see as a troubling definition of androgyny, I’d like to point to this screen capture of Google image results for “androgynous fashion”:

The results here point out a lot of my contentions with the generally associated idea of androgyny. Androgynous is most often used to describe a person who is FAAB (female assigned at birth, who may or may not identify as female), is white, thin (flat-chested and doesn’t have hips), has short hair, wears masculine clothes, applies little to no makeup, and has no body hair.

I’m surprised to see the number of long-haired people that are visible in this screen capture but I think it’s notable that “Men’s” and “Male” are both separate categories one can browse in this search- showing that androgyny is usually used to describe people we might call women who look less than feminine.

The #androgyny tag on Tumblr highlights this familiar association and I often see posts that comment “The perfect picture of androgyny” with a photo like the ones above and below here.

It’s obvious that this definition is limiting for so many reasons- upholding the single beauty standard of a white/ person of European descent who is thin, hairless, and doesn’t have breasts or hips is something that is well-documented within feminist literature as harmful to developing healthy body image and self-concept. I believe it’s particularly harmful in queer spaces online and off to see that these same ideals are being passed off without question when called androgyny.

I think the solution is to shift our idea about what we can call androgyny. I believe queer people can and do rally around beautiful humans who live their gender in unique and authentic ways that help create new gender options for more than just female-bodied individuals, and that’s is a direction we should aim for. Especially when gender variety is celebrated in tandem with body diversity and racial/ethnic diversity and we all aren’t just trying to fit our wide spectrum of bodies into a single box. Even when that box is constructed to describe a blending of identities, the word itself can hold a limiting meaning. I want to work on talking about something as binary as fashion (where men’s and women’s clothes are a given in any retail outlet) in a less binary way, and I believe that conversation starts with “androgyny.”

I’ll leave you with some beautifully androgynous folks of a wide spectrum of identities who regularly inspire me:

My pal Sean of *fruitpunch, wearing a lot of pleather and a skort in this picture.

My darling partner N, who sometimes writes about her outfits and clothing woes on her blog.

Majestic Legay, who writes brilliantly about fatshion and their cats and gorgeous partner.

Michael of His Black Dress

The super dapper Blake who writes at Qwear and on her blog The Curvy Lesbian.

There are many, many others who are inspiring in their willingness to share tips on fit, thrifting, and style generally, but these are a few of my favorites.

For the past few days I have been on a mission. I have been trying to find a new gynecologist and have discovered that, in New York, the perfect female gynecologist is as difficult to procure as the perfect New York apartment. Also, the process feels hauntingly similar. I have been sending desperate emails to friends asking if they have any tips and I have spent way too much time scouring the recesses of the internet Yelping, reading HealthGrades.com, and as a last resort, Googling various combinations of terms like “gynecologist, holistic, NYC.”

This search has led me to discover that most of the amazing gynecologists don’t take my insurance (I can now say with confidence that the top 5 Yelp rated gynecologists sure don’t). Today in a moment of sheer desperation I found myself seconds away from ordering that kind of terrifying and also totally amazing at home cervix self-examination kit (complete with speculum!) because I was running short on patience and I figured at least that way I could get some sort of overview of what’s going on.

But, at home speculums aside, this search has caused me to think back on my previous healthcare providers and has brought me on a rather interesting trip down memory lane, a reproductive version of “This Is Your Life” if you will. And as I look back on all the lovely healthcare specialists I have known over the years; out of all the Planned Parenthoods I have visited and all the OB/GYNs I have seen, I realize that my most important reproductive healthcare professional, the one who truly made me understand and love my insides, was an ultrasound tech.

About four years ago my gynecologist (a certified MD and holistic practitioner, the gynecological dream until she moved out of state) sent me for an ultrasound when she suspected I may have an ovarian cyst. It turns out she was right (she was a genius) and so began my year and a half of bi-monthly ultrasounds and my best medical relationship to date.

During this period of “watchful waiting,” I got to know my ultrasound tech and, since there wasn’t too much change in my condition and none of the typical baby stuff to discuss, we usually talked about her week. Over time I asked her more and more questions about her work, and the pros and cons of looking inside so many ladies.

She told me about all of the amazing connections she had made. She explained the joy she got from dealing with repeat patients, people she knew by name and parents who had been with her for two or more children. She said she loved watching their eyes light up when they first discovered the gender of their child, or heard its heartbeat. She spoke passionately about all of the life she had the privilege of watching develop and how many years (it was up to fifteen when I knew her) she had happily spent on the job.

She also told me about the not so great parts of her job. She explained what it felt like to discover that a child no longer had a heartbeat. She said while she dealt with miscarriages often, she was still often affected by the loss. She then told me the story of a patient she had, a woman who had been trying to get pregnant for several years. This woman miscarried ten times before she stopped trying. On her last attempt, it was my tech who delivered the bad news. The two of them had grown close and this woman didn’t want to have to wait for the doctor to tell her what she already suspected. My ultrasound tech explained how she took this woman’s hands in her own and the two of them cried together, for the last time (as she relayed this to me, I was basically doing everything I could not to sob during its telling).

After the removal of my cyst, I saw my tech two more times. My post-surgical ultrasound was a bit of a reunion for the two of us and after some general pleasantries and a quick medical catch up, she began my scan. I grew tense, worried that more cysts had appeared, and after what felt like a very long time, she delivered the news.

She smiled and told me I was the owner of two healthy, cyst-free ovaries, both of which were fully functional. But the best was yet to come. She asked me if I would like to look at my ovaries and, for the first time, she turned the screen. She showed me my ovaries one-by-one and explained what I was seeing. I was (once again) in tears. They were gorgeous.

Healthcare providers like this make the difference. Thinking back on this experience reminded me of how vitally important it is to be able to have a doctor you trust with your body and, as I continue my search for the right OB/GYN, I remain grateful to have been looked after by someone who truly loved what they did.

Introducing Social Therapeutics:

A Performatory Approach to Human Development and Learning

Women and Meds is a feature documentary film that explores the options women

face when they want to have children, but take psychotropic medication for mental

illness. The film follows multiple women who have each taken a different approach to

the issue: one woman who has chosen to wean herself off of anxiety medication

before conceiving, a second woman who is deciding between staying on her bi-polar

medication or adopting instead, and a third woman who experienced life-threatening

depression (un-medicated) during her first pregnancy and is now pregnant with her

second child and already exhibiting symptoms of mental illness again.

The film focuses on the personal stories of these women, and the many facets, both

positive and negative, of making such decisions. It addresses the struggle and

emotional turmoil, as well as the hope and perseverance of the featured women, and

advocates for their ability to make the best individual and personal choices for

themselves and their families.
Dina Fiasconaro has an MFA in film production from Columbia University and a BS in TV, Radio & Film from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Previously, she was post-production coordinator at the Hallmark Channel, and has shot everything from super-8 music videos for indie rock bands to high-definition commercial projects for Panasonic. Her short films and screenplays have been the recipient of multiple grants and have screened at a variety of film festivals nationwide. Dina is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Film & Video at Stevenson University near Baltimore, MD.

LINKS:

Website: womenandmeds.tumblr.com

But most importantly, we’d like to stress our Kickstarter campaign: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/158614119/women-and-meds

Sony Pictures Classics

Presents

THE PATIENCE STONE

Opening in Theaters August 14, 2013

Starring Golshifteh Farahani (Body of Lies)

Adapted by Atiq Rahimi (Earth and Ashes) and Jean-Claude Carriére

(The Unbearable Lightness of Being)

*Atiq Rahimi, Golshifteh best essay writing services Farahani, Jean-Claude Carriére, &

Hamidrez Javdan are available for phone interviews*

To Request Interviews & Information, Please Contact:

BetsyRudnick@Falcoink.com & MonicaDelamater@Falcoink.com

THE PATIENCE STONE captures, with great courage, the reality of everyday life for an intelligent woman under the oppressive weight of the Taliban regime.

Directed by Atiq Rahimi, based on his novel of the same name, winter of the 2008 Prix Goncourt, France’s most prestigious literary prize. The film is co-scripted by legendary screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière, whose many collaborations with Luis Buñuel include BELLE DE JOUR and THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE.

 THE PATIENCE STONE takes place in an unnamed Middle Eastern country. Beautiful actress Golshifteh Farahani (persona non grata in her native Iran for starring in Ridley Scott’s BODY OF LIES and posing nude in a French magazine) gives an electrifying performance in a reversal of the Scheherazade role: Instead of spinning fabulous tales to amuse her man, she sits by her injured, unresponsive husband and confesses to a litany of abuses she has suffered at his hands, among others. Critics have called her performance “mesmerizing,” “spellbinding,” “luminous,” and “a tour de force.”

Rating: R

Run Time: 102 Minutes

The following advanced screenings are available: 

Tuesday, August 6th at 8:00pm / Sony Screening Room

Thursday, August 8th at 6:00pm / Sony Screening Room

550 Madison Avenue at 55th Street, 7th Floor

For Press Materials & More Information, Please Visit:

 http://www.sonyclassics.com/thepatiencestone/

Why Higher Taxes Create Economic Growth

As voters we continue to be promised tax cuts.  Tax cuts will mean keeping more of what we have, and these cuts will induce investment.  This reasoning can only work so far.  Marginal income tax rates rose to their highest under President Clinton.   The very highest was 39.6%.  When a fiscal cliff had been settled earlier this year rates returned to that level for incomes over $400,000.  Under Bill Clinton it was for incomes above $100,000.  This was known as  the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.  It was H.R. 2264 (House Resolution 2294) passed with the tie-breaking vote of then Vice-President Albert Gore.  The hyperlink to the up or down vote is

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=103&session=1&vote=00247

Economic expansion was muted at first, but he GDP (Gross Domestic Product) did continue growing.  The growth rates had accelerated late in the 1990’s.  During the nearly all of Bill Clinton’s 8 years in the White House it was considered the longest ever peacetime expansion for the United States.  Annual deficits had turned to surpluses come 1997.  Energy prices were low where the gas and oil prices were below $1 per gallon for most of Mr. Clinton’s presidency.

The economy seemed to have had permanent momentum.  There were surpluses for the first time in about 30 years.  Investment in our US dollar and confidence in our economy were both at all-time highs.  How could the economy have done so well with higher income taxes?  Higher Taxes always hurt job businesses and workers.  Right?  That is what so many voters are led to believe.  How many times have the Republican leaders in the US House and Senate, House Speaker John Boehner of OH, Majority Leader Eric Cantor of VA, and US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that higher taxes hurt job creators?  They kill jobs.  This is all we’re ever told.  What is not discussed about the reason for such tepid job growth are our low wages.

What creates jobs is purchasing power.  Intuition would seem to suggest that purchasing power is hurt by higher income taxes.  The question is whose income taxes are they and how high are they?  The more graduated the income tax scale the more progressive it is, and those earning the lowest incomes pay the lowest rates.  The highest of our tax rates, 39.6%, currently starts at amounts over $400,000.  Less than 1% of salary earners in the US make it to this level.  Many of the wage earners who enjoy these 6-digit pinnacles place much of it in personal savings.  This means it is money not spent, and hence not circulating throughout our economy creating jobs.

For those making below $100,000 per annum and nearly all of the wage earners getting less than $50,000 spend virtually all of their income.  This obviates the need for a graduated tax code.  Those who oppose raising taxes on the wealthy also argue that there should be a flat tax.  This means that the assigned rate is exactly the same for everyone.  It makes no difference whether someone is earning a minimum wage, millions per year, or somewhere in between.  What I discussed thus far refutes the notion that the rate should be flat and unchanged for everyone.  It has been over a decade since Richard Armey of TX was a Congressman and also the US House Majority Leader.  Some of you may remember his fixation of the purported need for flat tax.  Mr. Armey was always so savagely maniacal in his diction “The flat tax is fair and simple for everyone.  All you have to do is file taxes on a post card. It’s that simple.  Anyone working for the IRS needs to go find another job”.  Do these statements sound familiar?  This was because then US House Majority leader would say these above statements constantly.

The ‘Regressives’ Flat Tax Plans

October 29, 2011

http://www.joraypublications.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/6a00d8341bf80c53ef014e86f0fcf4970d-500wi.png

Here is why Mr. Armey’s contentions are farcical and also fallible.

Dick Armey: Flat tax would be a win for the American people

By Dick Armey

Updated 10/25/2011 7:59 PM

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/story/2011-10-25/Dick-Armey-flat-tax/50917466/1

He dovetailed this with the name “Freedom and Fairness Restoration Act.”  When looking at the chart in the above hyperlink it is clear as to why there is almost no fairness or freedom.   Anyone garnering less than $100,000 will pay more in income taxes, not less, and that is just the beginning.  The referenced chart mentions income taxes only, and says nothing about property and sales taxes.  Since revenue to the states would be lowered and possibly eliminated this means that the difference must be made up in municipal (property) taxes.  As if paying a few thousand more in income taxes is not bad enough the same also becomes true for property taxes owed to the respective township or city.  Often times individual residences can be appraised on very subjective and loosely defined measures to arrive at the assigned real estate market value.  This leads to more property taxes being collected by the municipality because the rate is measured as per $100,000 in the home market value.  This measurement to assign property taxes is called the millage rate.

Millage simply means property tax rates as a percentage that is the same for all home owners or as mentioned above a specified dollar amount divided by every $100,000 in market value.  There would be other added expenses for the middle class to take on still.  While property taxes would go up sales taxes will as well.  Those who are the working poor would feel the effect of higher sales taxes immediately.  Then there are the fees including license renewals.  The cost for flat bed and multi rigged trucks can jump by hundreds of dollars hence hiking transportation cots.  This is especially true if they are hazmat certified where they have clearance to be able to transport hazardous materials.  Fees for garbage disposals and the use of other public parks would also be much higher.  Public sector employment would continue to shrink.  This includes nearly any type of government worker.  This would apply to clerks, management, case workers, and other personnel.  Emergency management contains many professions.  They include police, parole officers, fire fighters, paramedics, ambulance, nurses, police dogs, and other emergency personnel.  There are teachers, teacher’s aides, and librarians who are also slashed.  Al told there have been easily over a million jobs lost in these professions since President Barack Obama took office.  The US postal services and post offices had no doubt cut down on employees.  There is a multitude of reasons why the thinking that income taxes can only do harm and no good is proving very costly and very wrong.

Income taxes are deduced from many wage earners pay check, and there are many reasons why graduated tax codes with higher rates on higher incomes are necessary.  While income taxes are subtracted from most paychecks, they are about a lot more than just that.  They also have to do with the funding structures of towns, cities, counties, and even entire states.  More graduated tax codes help fund these communities and localities through financing.  When income taxes are higher investment in municipal bonds is also higher.  These bonds are what provide the funding for a wide gamete of structures.  Public facilities include libraries, public schools, post offices, court houses, fire houses, and some hospitals, VA (Veterans Administration) hospitals especially.  Lower tax rate deplete investment in municipal bonds and hence funding for these government entities.

Municipal bonds used to be a more lucrative funding stream with higher income taxes than they are now.  This is because municipal bonds have often been tax free alternative to corporate bonds.  The more progressive the tax code the more solvent this financing structure is.  It is because as rates go up the tax free yields on municipal bonds provide higher net returns than corporate bonds do and with a lot less risk.  Some of you have been hearing about the critically acclaimed Banking Analyst Meredith Whitney.  Mrs. Whitney has been talking about both local municipalities and entire states going completely broke as in the recent bankruptcy filing in Detroit MI.  Meredith Whitney has been getting relentlessly admonished.  “This can never happen.”  “She has no idea what she is talking about”.  Her worst fears are proving very much to be accurate.

While Detroit maybe the largest (as of late) municipal filing for Bankruptcy protection, it falls far short of being our only nationally known funding crisis.  Many states have had to slash government services while also raising property taxes.  The loss of real estate value and a struggling housing market has been a strain on many city budgets including Las Vegas NV and Phoenix AZ among many smaller to medium size populated cities.  CA has the largest statewide population and also the largest budget in dollars.  It is widely known how thousands of government workers have lost their jobs and in turn property taxes have been raised.  CA might the largest example on an entire statewide basis but certainly not the only one.  The loss of liquidity and credit tightening has not just hurt stocks but also bonds.

Treasury and municipal bonds have been suffering now too.  Because yields have remained depressed and income tax rates have stayed low there has been less investment in these financial instruments.  The talk that more and more investors have been hearing about a fixed income bubble is reflected in this article

https://www.thrivent.com/wallstreettoyourstreet/blog/marketcommentary/2013/Bubble-Talk-Reassessing-Risk-in-the-Fixed-Income-Markets.html

The above article does not point to a full collapse of the bond market but certainly a drastic reassessment about the viability and appeal of bonds.  Large budget deficits as referenced in this article definitely are a factor.  Low interest rates are also mentioned.  What we are seeing with the Federal Reserve right now is known as quantitative easing.  This term refers to near 0 borrowing rates and purchase o bonds by the Fed (Federal Reserve).  However liquidity is still tight because many prospective or would-be borrowers are not satisfying the lending requirements.  This is obvious with the now millions of residential foreclosures.  This is also true for small business loans.  The same is becoming increasingly true for student loans.

This is very much now true for students because with the surging tuition costs these loans have too become harder to qualify for.  What this is telling us is that businesses are suffering because they are without the support of these public facilities or these facilities are shut down altogether; the causality of this downward cycle is very clear.  These public entities are gravely weakened or boarded up in many cases because they are now without the financing of creditors (bond holders).  There are now far fewer bond holders because even the lowest of yields carry substantial risk of default where this was not the case in the past.  In economic terms the interpretation of the cycle is that if interest rates and taxes are higher they “crowd out” investment because of inflation and now the economic growth is slowing, possibly contracting.

Borrowing rates for businesses are near 0.  Mortgage rates have also been very low.  Why have businesses barely expanded and why are there fewer home purchases?  Interest rates have remained so low for an extended period that they have caused lending and credit to tighten, not loosen.  Of course there is a limit to how high interest rates can be.  During the late 1970’s and early 1980’s these borrowing rates were at all time highs, and our employment rate was similarly at double-digit percentage.  The term stagflation had been hurled around repeatedly.  Inflation was severe and unsustainable, and it was driving unemployment.  Still there was one bright spot.  Wages did rise at nearly the same pace as inflation.

Income taxes were higher, and public facilities were receiving their financing.  Interest rates are a nominal rate to determine the cost of capital.  What is failing to garner the discussion here is that the cost of capital is not all about interest rates only.  It is also about the confidence in conducting the business.  Interest rates are “rock bottom’, but so is confidence on the part of businesses.  What these same companies don’t like to acknowledge is that they need to see these government structures to be financed and functioning whether they be public schools, the post office, court house, fire houses, libraries, and Department of Labor One-Stop Training Centers.  Could this be a lot of why the banks, brokerage house, and similar companies cried afoul when they needed government money?  Many of these public services have all but been eliminated in many communities and even closed entirely.

Many of these neighborhoods have been replaced by crime and violence with frequent calls to the police, 911, and the ambulance.  Lack of public services creates uncertainty and unrest for business.  This local unrest more than makes up for the difference in higher interest rates.  This is costing companies more money than the otherwise higher lending rates.  President Barack Obama got relentless criticism by suggesting that businesses don’t exist and grow by themselves.  The truth is that Mr. Obama is right.  These corporate leaders need safe roads and bridges to get to work.  They also need buildings that meet fire codes and that are not contaminated with asbestos and other particulates.  They also rely on these municipal and government services to be able to do their own jobs as well employ other workers.

How a high rate of return can be bad for business

The rate of return can refer to several things.  Equity investors pay attention to stocks.  The fixed income market is bonds.  In capital budgeting and business investment the rate of return most closely corresponds with the internal rate of return or IRR.  This is known as the return on a capital project such the construction of new shopping mall, warehouse, seaport, etc.  Another term for the rate of return is yield.  This is because the yield answers what percentage of return truly occurred on the investment.  Many questions about the planning invariably have to be raised.

How large is the local and regional population?  What are the demographics?  What segments of the population are most likely to benefit from and use this facility?  How will this affect traffic flow patterns?  Will increased traffic erase any known profits from this capital investment and also create economic strain for the surrounding businesses?  How will the sewage and drainage be altered changing the direction of any runoff whether it is rain, freezing rain, sleet, ice, snow, etc?  How prone is this facility to fires, explosions, and combustion?  These are some of the questions that must be answered when deciding what kind of facility it should be.

The entire square footage, number of stories (floors), and the height of each floor require extensive floor plans with drafted blueprint, excavation, and other applicable steps in the construction process.  Whether the approval is for a seaport, large-scale retail mall, business center, and corporate headquarters a lot of variables must be weighed.  The decision has been made to construct this facility or place of business.  Now it comes time for the burning question.  How much money can we make from this project once it is open for business?

The central figure that tells us just how much money the project did get is known as the rate of return, and another term used in the finance field or profession is also referred to as Return on Investment (ROI).  This comes from discounting future cash outlays as converted in today’s dollars.  The rate of return measures the percentage of return realized after these out flows.  This is the percentage earned on cash flows, but does not consider the cost of capital.  The cost of capital is not reflected in the internal rate of return; the rate of return just pertains to the outflow of the cash stream in each fiscal (budget) year.  The Internal Rate of Return is often overestimated in terms of its yield because it is presumed that the yield is the same on the dollar amount of outlay during each budget year regarding the funding of the project.  Alternatively the more conservative yield that does consider the cost of capital is better known as the modified rate of return.

A modified rate of return will take into consideration fluctuations in the actual rate of return from one year to another hence it reflects changes in the yield on the investment.

Still the Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR) can be unrealistically high as well.  While higher yields appear attractive to the investor, they may also mask mismanagement and complications related to the project whether it is financing, planning, and management decision making.  Internal disagreements on the part of management are common, and knowledge about the level of risk may not be immediately clear.  Liquidity and transferability (are they fungible) say a lot about the risks and viability of the funding.  One cost structure that can add up very quickly is known as floatation costs.

Floatation costs are separate and extrinsic to the interest rate charged on the capital funding and borrowing.  This is because they are administrative expenses, and they often get compounded with delays and changes in the business plans including initial blueprint excavations and subsequent construction.  Some circumstances can be unforeseen due to extreme weather, but other aspects have to do with mistakes and unanswered questions.  More paperwork is costly because more business meetings are required resulting in more delays.  While these costs are not a function of the interest (lending) rate they have to be reflected in the overall cost of the financing.  The overall cost of the financing is known as The Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC).

Depending on the frequency of these delays plus some of the other cost factors discussed The WACC can be upgraded by a few percentage points unmasking more of the true costs associated with the underwriting and budgeting of the project.  This heightens the need to be more vigilant to the concern that there may be a default or at least garner a net negative on their investment (this is where outflows of funds exceed the inflows).  This is more common than some may think.  A construction lot is left abandoned and undeveloped.

Why is the lot not developed, and what are the future plans?  This vacant land can exist for months, sometimes years.  Changes in the national real estate market are considered macroeconomic because they are measured in aggregate terms.  Individual cities have their unique culmination of microeconomic business circumstances.  Because of the recent bankruptcy filing in Detroit, this is a very common problem that has only mushroomed especially in recent years.  One block has many boarded up businesses while another section of the same neighborhood has many unused lots that are vacant, in some cases due to prior demolitions of the structures.

Detroit is certainly not alone.  Other such cities include Cleveland, Baltimore, St. Louis, and Buffalo, NY.  There is a precipitous and accelerating exodus of the local population with Detroit losing well over 10% of its population each decade.  Commerce has changed altering the job market.  Many of these larger cities have not fully asked why this is happening and what needs to be done about it?   Where I live in Jersey City this is plenty prevalent and also throughout Hudson County.  There are the boarded up buildings and unused lots adjacent to them.  Nearby Newark has added businesses, but this largely remains the case throughout many of the neighborhoods in that city.  In all of the communities I have mentioned crime and drug use are high with chronic unemployment for many residents and families living within the respective neighborhood.  Calls to the police, the ambulance, fire department, and 911 are recurring and routine even during the middle of the day.  Developers and businesses know about this.

They are hesitant about developing their commerce in these locations.  They would opine that the high rate of crime and unemployment stops them from advancing their projects.  There have been and continue to be urban enterprise zones available to have some incentivizing of future business development.  A lot of what of what does cause these delays is lack of open mindedness and municipal planning.  Not enough research was done about the construction of the structure, plumbing and the impact on sewage, fire codes and safety evacuation plans, and lastly but of course not least the changes in traffic flow patterns.  In this phase and portion of the planning it is the zoning laws that require the greatest examination and hence the question becomes are they appropriate and applicable to the proposed project?  Poorly coordinated planning in these aspects of a capital project along with lack of transparency, and not enough prior research conducted about the costs and feasibility studies no doubt drive up the costs.

Depending on the repetitiveness, frequency, and longevity of these delays the lending rates may too be augmented.  No differently than with an individual mortgage holder a business considered to be high risk will have fewer financing options where the interest rates will be higher.  Floatation costs will obviously go up as well.  Outside investors who invariably end up as the respective creditors are going to naturally demand a higher yield.  Since the risk of default is evidently real and even imminent in some circumstances these investors will want to be compensated accordingly since they are the parties responsible for making the capital budgeting and construction possible.  There can be any number of reasons for the delays.

As with almost any assignment turnover is a likely factor.  An individual creditor may have personal corruption issues and difficulty with the law.  Training might be inadequate.  The technology could be poor leading to inaccurate record keeping. The list of possibilities can be endless.  Whatever the case is or might be the added costs could plausibly be exorbitant and ongoing.  I talked about this in my piece on pension plans how they can be referred to as legacy costs.  They are ongoing, recurring, and permanent.  Therefore they become compounded, and they accumulate.  The reason these expenditures become so costly is that they cannot be reversed and certainly not eliminated.  They become a permanent part of the budget.

Loan agreements, property taxes, long-term rental contacts, and leasing terms are among the most common budget items where these expenses are perpetual.  It is important for a spectating investor to ask what the cost structure is and how it defines the rate of return.  There are many necessary questions to ask when considering the fiscal consequences.  What are the rates of return on similar or nearby projects?  What is their Weighted Average Cost of Capital culminating the lending rates with the added administrative (floatation) costs?  What are the reputations of the creditors?  Are they reliable?  How will the surrounding community be affected in terms of traffic flow, plumbing, and without question individual residential market (real estate) value?  Depending on these comparative measures the high rate of return maybe nothing other than a subversion regarding the lack of certainty and also lack of confidence about whether the respective project should be undertaken.