If you haven’t been to Downtown L.A. recently, you will be startled by the Renaissance taking place. The restoration of old buildings, resurgence of business, and a rollicking arts scene of new music venues, art galleries, and proliferation of boldly expressive murals adding color and value to the urban landscape.

Keller-Williams commercial real estate agent Rene Garcia, who works at their Downtown office, asserts that “a nicely created mural not only enhances aesthetics, but typically increases the value of the building by 3%-7%, a positive for both resale and insurance purposes.” Potentially it could create additional revenue streams, if the building has a café and/or gift shop to sell the artist’s mural in smaller print form, other works of the artist, and related merchandise.

There is also the hipness factor, generating more people traffic to the property and yielding higher rental income from building tenants because murals are thought to be hip, a bit of a status symbol. It may even become a landmark, as some are on the monthly L.A. Artwalk, where murals ranging in theme from pithy to playful are listed on the walking route.                               

The business and art communities are working together synergistically to create dynamic partnerships and value for the entire Downtown community. Part of the reason new residents and visitors flock to Downtown is the growing body of public art surrounding them as they peer out the window of their new apartment or simply walk the streets.

Public art recently received a big nod of approval from the city, when a long-standing moratorium was lifted in September of last year. Not that it wasn’t already starting to flourish, due to the clout of powerful developers. “If a wealthy developer wanted a mural on their building’s wall, nobody from the city is going to stop them. But now it is going to explode even further,” says Daniel Lahoda.

Daniel, an artist himself and owner of the LaLa Gallery in the Downtown arts district, is a prime match maker between building owners and street artists in the area. I sat with him to discuss how the marriage of business and art manifests in many forms, and how it serves the community…

TR: What are the typical arrangements made between developers and street artists?

Daniel: It really depends. Everything is negotiable project by project. Sometimes the building owner is commissioning the artist, or the artist approaches the owner and just wants to use the (wall) space in which case there is generally no fee paid. Sometimes artists will come to us who want to turn their vision or artistic piece into a larger than life mural on a building. Other times what I’ll do if I have another patron involved who is supporting the production of the mural, I’ll offer the building owner a “maintenance honorarium,” just to ensure that they take care of the art. This also instills a sense of professionalism, so they know we’re not just off the streets trying to “bomb” their building. There is also a consultation process with people who are in residential buildings, getting their input on how they would feel about a mural for the building. People are almost unanimously enthusiastic, that it makes the place cooler and more hip. It improves their quality of life, for the owner it’s good p.r. and enhances the value of the property, and for the artists it gets their work up publicly in large format.

TR: Murals could take a few months to create. Would the artist be willing to do that just for exposure?

Daniel: Again it depends. I work with a lot of artists where the business model is that I represent the artist and I need to sell their work. So, I work with them to produce their artwork that I can sell in the gallery. When we make money from that, we’ll put some of it into creating a mural and the community benefits from that. More people see the art, which brings some of them into the gallery to buy more of the artist’s work.

TR: What about getting sponsors for the production of murals?

Daniel: We did a project with Congers (billboard advertising), where they gave us the money to produce a mural. At completion, we licensed the artwork to them to use in an ad. But we have to be careful with that; you run into problems with the branding. They may want the artist to compromise their work to suit the brand. I let them know that for example, we’re not going to put their logo on the mural, or do anything that shouts out their brand. In fact, studies show that it doesn’t work as well for them, when the viewer is forced into an “opt-in” advertising situation. And for an artist, if you come to be known as someone who will compromise their artwork for anybody at any price, then it doesn’t have much integrity to it, and you won’t attract the collectors.

TR: Are there any kind of metrics to appraise the added value of murals to a property?

Daniel: American Business Appraisers, who appraise everything from real estate to art, approached me back in September to figure out a way to apply appraisal value to the murals on buildings, even just for insurance purposes. They’ve noticed the national trend of mural mania, and if a mural is damaged by some force of nature or a car running into it, that value reimbursement should include money to repair the mural. So at this moment in time, there is no formal measurement of value, but should be coming in the near future.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "America's health care system is neither healthy, caring, nor a system.” ― Walter Cronkite

In November, the New York Times reported that the cost of a single medical suture in the U.S. had surpassed $500. The cost was based on a national average of the procedure performed in doctors' offices, out-patient clinics and hospital emergency rooms. Compare that to a doctor in Ecuador who estimates the average cost of a stitch in Ecuador to be $30 to $35. The comparison is in line with the latest World Health Organization's survey of health care costs by country. As of early 2013, the per capita expenditure on health care in the U.S. was $8,635 compared to $750 in Ecuador. Spending on health care in the U.S. represents 18.2% of the national GDP, the highest in the world, while it represents 8.8% in Ecuador.  For the record, the per capita cost in Canada is $4,500, 11.5% of GDP; $3,750 and 9.9% in the U.K.; $1,425 and 9.9% in Argentina; $1,135 and 8.4% in Panama; and $725 and 7.7% in Colombia. Is it any wonder why a growing number of baby boomers are heading south?


According to a new book in progress by economics advisor Ron Robins, one way to address the issue is to re-organize the health care system according to well-studied methodologies that show huge potential cost savings. While another way—garnering increasing attention—is by utilizing scientifically validated disease prevention interventions such as meditation: “Interestingly, by deploying the known methodologies and interventions, it might not be necessary to reduce benefits yet still be able to cut health care costs a stunning 50-80 per cent,” asserts Mr. Robins. “The current deficit account of the U.S. Government includes an astounding unfunded liability of $205 trillion. It equals a current debt of about $665,000 for every living American adult and child. And most of this sum pertains to health care. The health care costs quagmire poses a financial deathblow to the U.S. economy and its citizens. To avert this calamity, America’s health care system must be revamped.”


The major health care cost drivers cited:
The increasing incidence of chronic disease in an aging population


Relatively fewer workers to pay for increasing costs


Exceptionally high professional fees relative to other developed countries


Huge oversupply of services, equipment


Administration costs and fraud (worthy of specific mention here are costs of malpractice insurance and litigation)


 
As the elderly are responsible disproportionately for health care costs, some researchers suggest they be particularly encouraged to practice preventive modalities, be it a healthier diet, consistent exercise, and/or relaxation techniques. One leading researcher on health care costs, Dr. Robert Herron, wrote in the Huffington Post on July 13, 2012: “In the Medicare population… the highest spending 25% of seniors accounted for 85% of total expenses’ and that there was ‘a 28% reduction in doctors’ bills over five years from baseline for persistent high-cost people who practiced the Transcendental Meditation technique.’"


After reviewing the book, “Tracking Medicine,” by John E. Wennberg, researcher Arnold Relman commented, ‘[Wennberg] provides convincing evidence that oversupply of services throughout the U.S. adds greatly to the cost of care…that since the medical care in the low-expenditure areas is not discernibly different in quality from that in the high-expenditure areas, a huge amount of money could be saved if the country were to receive care the way it is provided in the low-expenditure areas. Wennberg estimates the savings would be about 30 to 40%.’”


Regarding administrative costs, OECD Health Division Director Mark Pearson notes that these costs constitute about 7% of all health care costs in the U.S., roughly double those of other developed countries.  And the FBI calculates that fraud costs the health care system about $80 billion annually—or about 3 per cent of all health care expenditures.


Conclusion:  The solution to the health care financial debacle requires radical changes to the health care system and Americans’ attitudes about their health and health care. It requires each one of us to assume greater responsibility for our health and well-being. This means we become knowledgeable about an array of healthy options and take action via our lifestyle choices toward disease prevention. As the demand for preventive medicine and healthy living continues to grow, reforms to the health care system should occur naturally and spur implementation of known cost-effective modalities. It means introducing scientifically validated cost-saving disease prevention programs such as meditation, T’ai Chi, and Yoga that also create an inner fulfillment and self-sufficiency, as opposed to externally-driven, instant gratification consciousness that engenders frustration, feelings of lack, and ill health.


Ron Robins estimates these recommendations could cut U.S. health care costs by 50-80% and dramatically improve health outcomes—all without reducing benefits.

  
MEDICAL CHART BLOOPERS
“Patient refused an autopsy.”
“Vaginal packing out. Doctor in.”
“Large brown B.M. Walking down the hall. “
“Exam of genitalia revealed that he was circus sized.”
“Patient was to have a bowel resection. He took a job as a stockbroker instead.”

Later this year, Google will celebrate its 10th anniversary as a publicly-traded company. And the conventional wisdom is that GOOG has been one of the best performing investments of the last decade. If you had invested $85 in the Google IPO back in 2004, your investment would be worth over $1,100 today... a 13x return. Over the same period, the S&P 500 has returned just 66%. And if you had taken the plunge into US Treasuries back in 2004, you would have been paid 4.15% per annum for the last ten years.

In light of all this, Google's stock performance has been undoubtedly stellar. But there's an entirely different asset class that few people ever consider which has beaten the pants off of Google's long-term performance. It's agriculture. I thought about this yesterday as I was walking around the orchard here picking fresh, ripe plums off the tree. We'll be starting our harvest soon, and the workers are getting everything ready.

The average plum tree can easily produce over 100 pounds of fruit, starting a few years after you put a well-developed seedling in the ground. And even on a standard-sized residential lot, you can plant 20+ fruit trees. Assuming a long-term average price of just $0.50 per pound and a 2004 plant price of $4, investing $85 in plum trees 10-years ago instead of Google stock would have yielded well over $6,000 so far. Even if you're not a do-it-yourselfer and allow for harvest costs, loss, pruning, water, and other expenses, you'd still be up more than GOOG. Plus you'd still be grossing $1,000 per year... not to mention the increase in your home's market value. More importantly, you would be owning (and producing) REAL assets instead of paper assets-- something that can be traded, sold, stored, or if need be, eaten.

It's not just plums, either. Or even fruit trees for that matter. You could have bought $85 worth of organic tomato seeds in 2004 and grown thousands of dollars’ worth of organic tomatoes over the last decade from your backyard. Of course, this sort of notion makes most serious investors laugh. They can't think past their own noses and only know how to follow the investment herd off the proverbial cliff.

And while this missive isn't intended to convince astute readers to rush out and plant trees, it's at least worth pointing out that there are always profitable options far from the mainstream investment mentality.  (Reprinted from the newsletter “Sovereign Man”)

DEFINING THE MARKET

Bull Market: a random market movement causing an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius.

Bear Market: a 6 to 24 month period when the kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewelry and the husband gets no sex.

Bull: what your broker uses to explain why your mutual funds tanked during the last quarter.