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Saturday, April 19, 2008

Newbie Homeowner… Not today buddy!


Not that the cost of gas will prevent you from ever owning a home if that is your hope and dream, stagnant wages will. While the cost of living is going through the roof along with CEO bonuses and mega billion profits per quarter at the oil companies the average Joe is supposed to say “Oh well?”.

Is it just me or does the main stream media not get it? Our jobs are going everywhere but here and everyone in the media is smiling as if there is nothing wrong. Good paying middle class jobs are flooding out of every state because it is cheaper to move the plants and machinery out of America and that is the bottom line that pays the CEO’s. Every single corporation in America is looking to go cheaper and that answer is offshore and out of America. Yes, it makes good business sense but if it is at the expense of all your neighbors is it the right thing to do? If you think like a CEO then it is always a good thing to do. Cheaper labor cost means a greater profit. End of discussion.

When our nations job providers do not offer wages to provide for home ownership then that is the end of the American economic engine. Kiss Home Depot, Lowes and any other home improvement stores goodbye! Then again that may be a good thing when they put more products not made in America on the shelves to sell. Over at MSN Money they have this interesting piece and I urge you to click on the post!!!

Average Joe still can't afford a home

By Bankrate.com


One of the worst things about today's real estate market is that there doesn't seem to be any silver lining in that big black cloud.

Normally, you'd think dramatically falling prices would make homeownership possible for more moderate-income families.

But even with homes more affordable, the median price in many markets is still out of reach for a median-income family, according to "Paycheck to Paycheck: Wages and the Cost of Housing in America," a study by the Center for Housing Policy, or CHP, in Washington, D.C.

Comparing housing costs in 210 metropolitan areas with the wages earned by workers in 60 occupations, the study found that homeownership is often unaffordable for workers in each of the five-fastest growing occupations -- registered nurses, retail salespeople, customer-service representatives, food-preparation workers and office clerks. Registered nurses, who typically have high salaries, were unable to purchase a median-priced home in 108 of the markets
. - MSN Money

I think I should be clear that I honestly believe the housing market is in a tumble it has not seen in decades or even half a century or more. One of the things I know about economics and how an economy works is that housing is the basis for all indicators.

When I owned my home, I put tons of money into that house. From new windows to the latest and greatest technology on heating the hot water. New doors went up on all of the bedrooms, new floors went down in the kitchen, the bathroom was overhauled with a water saving toilet, and the yard was rebuilt to allow a swing set for the kids to play on. Renters don’t do that and can not do that.

We lost our home when a child’s illness had us faced with ten months of hospital medical bills and I’m not sorry for it. My child is well now and that is all that is important to me. Our home was just a materialistic thing that we built around the family. All of the conveniences we added to our home was just that. Something that made our lives easier. We did what we had to do in order to survive and we lost just an address. My baby is still with us so I don’t look at it as a total loss. It was just a house but she is and will always be my baby girl. That is my personal perspective but this issues is bigger than that. The housing crisis is real and it is at our front door as a nation. Some folks call people like me an idiot for making stupid decisions financially but you would never want to be in my shoes when I made them. Hind sight is wonderful if you never lived the tale or circumstances.

It should bother you that our nation is moving in a direction that is lazy or easy. Where once we were a nation of innovators and experimenters on how to do things better we have been sold out by our corporate leaders for the almighty dollar. In some respects I can understand why one individual would condescend to the principal of making the most money for his family but at what cost does that sell out come to his neighbors? Lately it is pretty high.

When American business people realize that the dollar they get by selling out American jobs is hurting their nation then they just might have a clue. Till that time comes you can watch as all the manufacturing jobs go out of our nation and your job is no longer relevant. They call it outsourcing and good for the bottom line. I call it death to the American economy. Either way the bonuses go out to the top executives. Maybe your MIT engineering skills will come in handy to mow their lawn? Skim the pool or do day care for their kids while they go off shopping.

Buying a house on a salary or pay that requires you to ask if the customer wants fries with that is not how you pay for a home.

Not everyone in America will make anywhere near the big bucks of even the middle class but if the loss of hope of ever owning a home is gone then our nation is a failure. That then would be a tribute to the people that have sold all American’s out.

If this were a baseball game the owners would have sold all the players before the game was even over…

Papamoka

Cross posted MichaelLinnJones.com and to Bring It ON! and To the Center


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