Another sad and largely unnoticed aspect to the US housing bubble below. Though US Blacks and Latinos no doubt knew they were being steered into sub-prime instead of prime rates at an occurrence rate far higher than their white income level equivalents, the lure of home ownership was often realized in whatever form it came. A staggering example of the officers of the elites exercising extortionate controls.
Though I agree with Harry's land value analysis, I also agree with Ed that this bubble is different, for many reasons--primarily related to the US war/debtor economy, which, in my view, was designed by those who knew they would profit by continuing to allow Bush 43 to remain in power. One could say the masses have allowed Bush to keep the power, but the right to peaceful assembly has been almost wiped out. Demands for accountability result in tighter controls and increased plans for urban control. Elected officials, just like police and others, are pawns of the elite, like Arthur pointed out. Corrections to most problems seem to occur only once there is no other extortionate option left available to the elites. Trying to make change at the local level, unless one is a developer, is pretty hopeless. Laws are passed without public discussion both municipally and federally. Just today an agreement was made by US/Canadian military to allow either side the right to come and help one another in the event of an emergency. The trick is that the US cannot be given orders by anyone other than its own country's command. Where does that leave Canada??? No discussion in parliament whatsoever, yet military, and specifically US military, somehow has this control of our "well-being". BC government just created a new false green budget, essentially giving more tax breaks to oil industry, and taxing the rest of us to subsidize same to search for more oil. Billions in profits deserve billions more? The announcement of upcoming increments to oil and gas, which gave magical license to gas stations to raise gas by another 6 cents immediately even before additional scheduled government increments, spurred Hydro to ask for a 25% increase. That's fair, right? Escalating oil prices will affect far more than just transportation. Included in the budget package--$100 to each resident, not unlike the Bush stimulus package to get people to spend, but called a carbon tax rebate. Obviously, it's a disguised similar stimulus because they know we're also heading for a recession, and therefore must follow the faulty US logic of spending what you don't really have to try to shore up the economy while your party is still in power giving out our money to industry not at all green, rather than investing in greening up the industry we have, or getting serious about alternative energy. The US can't look at the obvious of stopping a war that has drained the treasury, can't look to saving the infrastructure and creating jobs thereby. Can't think of raising interest rates because the bubble will explode. Must never restore value to currency, or both the public and the lending institutions will suffer. Can't impeach elected officers because everyone who voted for the war in Congress could be liable for criminal support of the Iraq war and the Patriot Act, and every illegal undertaking tied to same. Ed, what is your solution? You say it is the people who have given these greedy corporations the power, yet also admit that silence serves those who might need a job. Elected officials are corporate puppets. You don't get elected without money or the willingness to bend to corporate influence. Perhaps it takes being unemployed and hopeless to have the time and freedom, when you're not scrounging for food and shelter, to organize an effective protest, but being taken seriously, without being arrested or Tasered, has seen its day. That was an interesting account of Chicago's land valuation, and I look forward to a similar cyclical correction in the Greater Victoria area in another 2-3 years. Houses are moving more slowly now, though prices are still climbing. Here land is scarce, but any mouldy stucco 70's shack on a small lot worth $200,000 gets an extra $250,000 for having what is referred to as a capital improvement. These are bought as rentals or tear-downs. Realtors, in their own best interests project nothing but growth, and of course contribute to the coming bubble with their poisonous false optimism spread to investors. Many here bought with nothing down or have very low equity. The crunch is inevitable. We will also be highly affected by the failing US economy in a variety of ominous ways. High food and commodity costs because of droughts and high diesel to start, then fewer tourists, then increases in defense to keep out desperate Americans trying to escape a bad economic and political climate come to mind first. Any sages out there? I think things are far too complicated and laced with red tape for change. I suspect Harry has the right idea to sit back and let things just happen as they will. I'm not optimistic that things can restore themselves as easily as in the past, and anticipate much longer correction periods, but perhaps Harry feels the same on this point. Natalia ILLEGAL DISCRIMINATION HELPED FUEL SUBPRIME CRISIS KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL & GREG KAUFMAN, THE NATION - [Jesse] Jackson points to the targeting and steering of African-Americans and Latinos who were qualified for prime loans into risky subprime mortgages . . . "Redlining was to not loan to certain areas," he said. "This is what amounts to reverse-redlining - steering black and brown borrowers into subprime who were eligible for prime. That's out and out breaking discrimination laws." In 2005 and 2006, over 50% of all loans made to African- Americans, and over 40% to Latinos, were subprime - compared to only 19% of white borrowers. Martin Gruenberg, vice chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, said at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition's Wall Street Economic Summit in January, "Only one-sixth of this differential could be accounted for by the ability of the borrower." Analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data shows that African- Americans and Latinos in New York City, Boston, Washington, Philadelphia and other cities were two to three times more likely to have subprime, high-cost loans than white borrowers with similar incomes and loan amounts. The New York Times has reported on two neighborhoods in the Detroit area - one 97 percent white with a median income of $51,000, another 97 percent African-American with a median income of $49,000. In 2006, 17 percent of the loans made in the white neighborhood were subprime, compared to 70 percent of the loans in the predominately African-American neighborhood. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan recently pointed out on National Public Radio, "An African-American earning more than $100,000 was more likely than a white person who earned less than $35,000 to be put in a high-cost, [subprime] loan. . . Clearly there is discrimination going on." The Times also reported that "around 90 percent of subprime loans originated between 2004 and 2006 carried exploding adjustable rates. Some 70 percent of subprime loans have prepayment penalties, versus 2 percent of prime loans. . . " . . . It is now estimated that 2.2 million subprime home loans have already failed or will end in foreclosure - the highest foreclosure rate since the Depression - with a total equity loss of $164 billion. . . http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?bid=7&pid=287768 --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. 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