Why do our leaders hate children and renters so much?
I mean, why else would they want to artificially inflate home prices, so that prospective home buyers and future generations would never be able to be a part of the "American Dream"?
October 13, 2008
HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day
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I think it works the other way round: exactly because private housing is the "American Dream", it deserves 30 years of toil toward paying off a huge mortgage - totally detached from the anticipated value of suburban land plots and cardboard buildings. All thanks to finacial trickery: I can't see why mortgages should be tax-exempt or sponsored through GSEs, for example.
And, as you can see with ex-USSR, countries with declining population can still have property bubbles, with decrepit flats revered as the ultimate store of wealth!
The leaders also hate savers.
Because we are really a fuedalist society. Land owners extract wealth from the laboring class via inflation and tax policy.
No you're right Keith. Instead of having a nice stable home, kids are better off moving every year from apartment to apartment.
Instead of having a yard in which to play, it's better they have no yard, and maybe have a cramped balcony on which to play.
Instead of living in a safe suburban setting, kids are better off living in a dirty crime infested city and attending school with their public housing neighbors.
They don't hate children, they hate all of us.
They don't want to inflate houses so future generations can't afford them.
They can't have a drop in total debt so they're hoping inflation will keep house prices constant. If it works boomers will be the losers and future generations will be making plenty of money to pay for them.
The question now is whether they will agree to pay more taxes to support the retired boomers with deflated pensions and deflated real estate!
and i thought everything is for the kids!
It is the greediest generation on earth in charge still (can't die off fast enough) and they want to protect themselves and themselves only. They don't care about me! They don't care about anything except their family, money and the lexus! The jews drive a lex instead of bmw because it's german!
I saw a commercial last year which explains this:
Scenes of Woodstock, tie-dye tee shirts, burning bras, Beatles, Muhamad Ali and other 1960s stuff flash across screen.
Narrators voice says: "Doesn't the generation which lived through this . . . "
Then scenes of luxury cars, gold watches, fancy dinners, and exotic travel destinations flash across the screen.
Narrators voice says: ". . . deserve to retire like this."
It's not hate. It's greed induced disregard. Hate is what the mob will experience as they string up arbitrarily chosen "financial professionals"
Don't forget they also hate minorities. Minorities -- especially blacks -- would benefit greatly if housing prices failed to "stabilize" for several years.
Oh. Never mind. I forgot. According to our politicians, brown people are too stupid and undisciplined to work and save for a house they can afford. Therefore, big daddy government "helps" them buy a house by providing cheap financing.
As it is, housing is so expensive that no brown family in the ghetto could even hope to leave without help from the government. And that's just the way the government likes it. Keep blacks dependent. The ghetto is the new plantation, and the government is the new slave master.
Baby Boomers eat their young. They love and indulge themselves too much to also love/have children. That's why they didn't have enough children to keep the Social Security Ponzi scheme going.
They're just trying to protect their own plummeting home values. But you can count on anything they try to do to fix the problem to fail - housing won't stay up without speculators artificially driving it up. People are too fearful of losing their jobs to even buy a car right now let alone a still-ridiculously-overpriced house.
Love/Hate never enters into the equation. It's all about more money for them, at the expense of whomever they can fleece.
Our leaders give us the choice of how we will be fleeced. Debt slavery, inflation, taxation, if you're not part of the ruling elite and are somehow avoiding the suppression they will soon catch on and pass a law to change your evil ways.
99% of these folks navigated the electoral system successfully.
How many renters and children helped them along the way?
The key is to protect you and yours as we stagger into a Dark Age. Homo sapiens are just glorified monkeys after all.
Our society in general treats kids like high-price luxury items (well, they're right about the HIGH PRICE part... I've got two...) or smarter pets.
One of my "pet" peeves is that our website at work has a listing of our employees with a space for people to fill in their kids names (presumably, so you can know who is answering the phone, or you can greet them by name at company parties). I noticed one lady had two "kids" with unusual sounding names.
I asked her about her children and she said, "Oh, yes, we adopted them from Turkey!"
"Turkey!" I said, "How fascinating!"
We talked about her "kids" for about five minutes before she finally let slip that they were Anatolian Shepherds!
I've told this story to my kids, and when they act up sometimes, I will joke with them, "Kids are dogs, dogs are kids. They are equivalent!"
I get irritated with the DINKs who tell me they have "kids," then tell me their breeds (or species). I get even more irritated with some of our public schools and daycares that actually seem to operate like kennels!
The only way home prices are going to "stabilize" is if you show up to work one day and your boss informs you your salary has increased 3x over night.
For now, I refuse to buy an overpriced home and will be content to rent an overpriced home.
Anonymous said...
Baby Boomers eat their young. They love and indulge themselves too much to also love/have children.
So, you were born "off world"?
JaneZ
It's a myth that suburbia is the safest environment for children. It's a dull, artificial and depressing environment. To the extent they get driven by mom or dad to everywhere, yes, it's safe. But actually suburbia is a hostile place for everyone who does not drive. Most of the time children are stranded in suburbia and dependent upon their parents to drive them everywhere.
It's a pity that American cities are ghettos that most middle class folks would rather not send their children to. But that happens only in America.
When housing finally plummets in value, wouldn't property taxes follow the plunge in a year or two after that?
What will happen when plummeting property taxes meet the hyperinflation that the government will create in the meantime?
Will suburbia, already pressed by rising gas and oil costs, go bankrupt?
The only way home prices are going to "stabilize" is if you show up to work one day and your boss informs you your salary has increased 3x over night.
Nicely put. Go tell it to Chris Dodd and Barney Frank!
Kids don't yet know they are being hosed, and they can't vote anyways.
Renters and savers are in the minority in this country, so their voice is not loud enough.
Maybe renters and savers can apply to be a protected class at some point since there are so few of them.
Most poverty in this country is found amoung people under 30 with children.
Keefer, will all us posters including anons share in the profit of your book?
Keith, I'm surprised that you refer to homeownership as the American Dream. I would think you of all people would know that the meaning of the American Dream began to change around 60 years ago thanks to the diligent effort of realtors. That's right, the American Dream had nothing to do with homeownership until the last century.
They don't hate us, they just don't care. And further, personhood has always been measured in this country by property/wealth. I say let them perish by their own standards: loss of wealth....
Speaking of race:
Has anybody seen publication of the latest results of the human genome project ( I think it was March, 2006, National Geographic),,,all men walking the earth carry the original African gene. To those of us who are typed 'white', speaking as an artist, hold your arm up to a piece of computer paper....it's beige/tan, ie watered down brown.
How about that? Did not get any publicity, did it...
Grandma pkk
"Instead of living in a safe suburban setting, kids are better off living in a dirty crime infested city and attending school with their public housing neighbors."
The suburban myth continues. I know some suburban high schools that are just as violent as the ones in the cities. And if you want safety for kids you're better off moving to a city or not driving, because all that driving around is deadlier then everthing else including drugs, SIDS, peanuts, kidnappers or any other danger of the week story conjured up by your local news.
Only thing more pathetic than a renter over the age of 30 is someone over the age of 30 on a bus.
The suburban myth continues. I know some suburban high schools that are just as violent as the ones in the cities.
===
Oh you know SOME. Good for you. 99% of inner city schools are crime infested. A handful of suburban ones are too.
Say, were you on the debate team, because your skills are fascinating.
It's a myth that suburbia is the safest environment for children. It's a dull, artificial and depressing environment. To the extent they get driven by mom or dad to everywhere, yes, it's safe. But actually suburbia is a hostile place for everyone who does not drive. Most of the time children are stranded in suburbia and dependent upon their parents to drive them everywhere.
I'm convinced that the suburbs are hostile to kids' MINDS! I grew up in a small country town in Iowa (I'm 42), and we had our fair share of bullies, drugs, drinking, fighting, etc. But it was not at all unusual to see someone have rifles in a rack in his pickup truck. We brought shotguns to school for skeet shooting class, and no one EVER feared (or even imagined) that someone would go "postal." Kids wore knives on their belts, because they often checked their traps right before school and right after.
The town was pretty boring, but I managed to "escape" through science fiction and fantasy books. Also, I would often drop by the house of one of our old folks to hear their stories of yesteryear. They'd feed me milk and cookies, and I'd hang around there for a couple hours sometimes. There was also spontaneous hunting / fishing "trips" (walking a couple of miles into the country), football and baseball, card / Monopoly games at someone's house, or the ever-popular "fort-building" in either the snow or out at the town junk yard!
We had a sense of community. My son has no friends in the neighborhood. Most of them live at least 20 miles away, and he sees them when he goes to church or one of his activities. There are no spontaneous neighborhood football or baseball games. Hanging out consists of playing video games together... And one thing that seems to be lacking is a dire sense of "I've got to get out of here!" Although there were some neat aspects to growing up in my town, I was driven to something bigger. I joined the Air Force and spent 3 years in Korea after studying Korean for a year. That was very eye opening. But it seems like suburban kids just want to go to college and then come back.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think tiny town, and probably even big city are preferable alternatives...
Maybe because people who OWN real estate help our leaders get into power? Tony Rezko anyone? How many RENTERS helped Barack Oabam raise large sums of money? And don't forget that Obama recieved the second largest contribution from Fannie Mae, right after Chris Dodd.
No you're right Keith. Instead of having a nice stable home, kids are better off moving every year from apartment to apartment.
Instead of having a yard in which to play, it's better they have no yard, and maybe have a cramped balcony on which to play.
It's just preparation for the real world. You know, when they're switching low paying jobs every year and working in a cramped cubicle. Better to adapt while you're young :)
Keith,
You have it all wrong. The democrats are champions of the working class family. Their policies have always supported making housing more and more affordable via their never ending support for the GSEs. They also enabled a whole under-privileged segment of our population to have the american dream by allowing the GSE to accept welfare benefits as income on a mortgage application!
It is the republican policies that are to blame. This whole mess would not have happened if the republics hadn't worked to thwart social spending increases. Their refusal to not keep the most vulnerable segments of our population ahead of the inflation curve has meant that those on welfare not earn less than ever and they are struggling to make their mortgage payments not to mention being able to afford even the most stripped down Escalade!
"For now, I refuse to buy an overpriced home and will be content to rent an overpriced home"
And fund retirement.
Great post Keith.
Only thing more pathetic than a renter over the age of 30 is someone over the age of 30 on a bus.
The only thing more pathetic than that is a 75 year old granny who can barely walk driving down I-87.
Oh you know SOME. Good for you. 99% of inner city schools are crime infested. A handful of suburban ones are too.
Say, were you on the debate team, because your skills are fascinating.
Are you aware that the term "inner city" has negative connotations only in the upside-down world of the USA? In a better world one would expect some distant suburbs to be run-down and crime infested and the inner city to be a burgeoning commercial district with residential buildings, parks, streetcars, theaters, etc.
And this actually will happen in America some day: today's exurbs will be tomorrow's "inner cities".
Most suburban schools are located in appealing, well-designed buildings which command the respect of faculty and students. The same building design could well be used for an electric motor factory, parking garage, a headquarters of the Department of Sanitation.
Suburban schools are located in desirable and kid-friendly locations such as collector roads and major highway intersections. These locations simply invite kids to walk home when school's over.
Suburban kids get used early on to the place where they will spend almost 20% of their waking hours as adults: the car. Not everyone actually makes a good and careful driver; there are unstable or uncoordinated people who should never sit behind the wheel.
Suburban kids can't go to the corner store to buy newspaper and bagels when grandma visits: the "corner store" is on the highway strip which might well be 2 miles away.
I knew a girl from Long Island who moved to NYC for college. She was 19 and it was the first time she had ever taken the bus. OMG, like she was totally shocked. I can't even remember my first bus ride: I must have been 2 or 3.
Anon 6:08 said...
"Only thing more pathetic than a renter over the age of 30 is someone over the age of 30 on a bus."
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Please don't feed this troll!
-The Management
They don't hate children. They hate those of us who choose not to live the bible-thumper lifestyle of get married at 18 and have 5 kids.
Why else would they hand out welfare in the form of child tax credits & dependent deductions to parents, while those of us who don't have kids are forced to subsidize their little brats through higher taxes?
The only fair system will be a flat tax (with no b.s. deductions like children) or a consumption tax. Period. End of story.
Personally I support a consumption tax such as the FairTax as it would close all the loopholes (like Warren Buffet paying 15% tax) and America would become THE tax shelter of the world. Other countries would start shipping their jobs here instead of the other way around.
Someone please tell me whatever happened to the "Starter home", the 1100 SqFt bath and half ranchstyle with FORMICA countertops, no fireplace, and carport? That is what got lots and lots of folks going well. Remember the FHA 235 home loan? Or a VA? or even a Conventional with 20% down. Yes the 30 year, front-loaded with interest American Mortgage was treason on paper at best, but we got by on them. Granite could be a later add-on (paying cash of course) and other little DIY goodies (maybe close in that carport for a family room with Uncle Elbert's help). I wish some of the commenter would comment on this!!!!
Where is the 3br-onenadhalfbath ranches these days?
"We had a sense of community. My son has no friends in the neighborhood. Most of them live at least 20 miles away, and he sees them when he goes to church or one of his activities. There are no spontaneous neighborhood football or baseball games"
What you're describing is an "American Graffiti" type of township vs being holed in a suburban Cul-de-Sac till 18. Unfortunately, outside of a few close-knit 'burbs, most newly developed areas are like that with the home and the school being the only two worlds in a kid's life. No sense of community or belonging to something bigger than one's school extracurriculars like the Marching Band or the Gaming Club.
The long emergency
-James Howard Kustler.
The long emergency
-James Howard Kustler.
Are you Kunstler or a fan of his?
They don't hate children. They are just short-sighted and can't see anything that isn't right in front of their faces.
Their myopia also allowed them to produce this current crisis - home prices were rising and they just couldn't imagine what would happen when that stopped, if that ever stopped.
We have a financial system and electoral system that offers very little incentive for anyone to think long-term.
They don't want to inflate houses so future generations can't afford them.They are just short-sighted and can't see anything that isn't right in front of their faces.
"I have a plan to protect the value of your home and get it rising again by buying up these bad mortgages and refinancing them."
-McCain at a rally in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Anonymous said...
Only thing more pathetic than a renter over the age of 30 is someone over the age of 30 on a bus.
October 13, 2008 6:08 PM
Obviously you've never met any young professionals in NYC, San Francisco or Washington, DC. You must be a honkey mom from a small town.
October 13, 2008 8:39 PM
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Over 30 is not young. I stand by my original comment. Sorry renters, if you're over 30 and renting a shithole or even worse riding a bus, you are a loser. Deal with reality.
Well, Keith's savior and messiah Obama has said the same thing. "Maintaining housing values" is a centerpiece of his "economic plan." Another is the 90-day moratorium on foreclosures because, you know, after 90 days of free rent everyone will be able to afford their overpriced mortgage.
Yeah, both of them suck on this issue, and generally. That's why I'm voting, but not for either one.
Well, Keith's savior and messiah Obama has said the same thing. "Maintaining housing values" is a centerpiece of his "economic plan." Another is the 90-day moratorium on foreclosures because, you know, after 90 days of free rent everyone will be able to afford their overpriced mortgage.
Let's hope that after 4 years of Obama or McCain, America will be ripe for someone like Ron Paul for president. Too bad Ron Paul will be almost 77 years old when the next election comes.
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