Round Circles

It's been a long time since I've been here.

Let me start by saying just how disappointed I was by South Africa and Mbeki's resignation. If anyone has ever read a word I put into these blog, they know I worry about the shortsightedness of Africans. The selfishness and the never ending ability to just want to be heard and with no element of consequence analysis. may God have mercy on us all.

And the $700B bailout plan. I know something must be done but why the major rush? And more importantly, we need to fix housing first, correct? We say we can't afford to let the market auto correct, right? Here's the reality in housing though. There's a glut. Of houses, yes. But of builders as well. Who build houses. And if this rescue saves them all, then we have the never ending issue of too many houses in the market. Here's the reality, home ownership is not for everyone. It is a classful selection and only the middle class and above and a few lucky few should be able to afford to own their own homes. That is unless we start to include the outliers and the last quartile homes on the home prices grid.Then the really cheap homes (usually riddled with issues and one strong wind away from condemnation) can be bought by those below middle class.

The tough call is calling a spade a spade. In America, it's uncool to say that "only the middle class and richer should have access to..." Yet economically, that's the only salvation out here left. The builders must be reduced. Construction must reduce very significantly. Because if not, the attempt to put in people into each of these new homes will mean that we still have to maintain very iffy lending practices, so that regular Janes and Joes can fill these homes. The Jones' already could afford their homes and are still in them without pending foreclosures. The housing market must include old homes to a very significant percentage to be robust. Hence Washington, open thine eyes! This bailout may not be wrong. It definitely isn't a first step. There are tougher, less popular calls to be made and enforced here. Some real estate personnel must lose jobs. This is where the real problem is. And city zoning must be regulated to certain numbers (based upon research) of new homes per year.

So we're all going to have to stop keeping up with the Jones', revert back to accepting how regular Jane and Joe we are, and keep renting and working and praying for a miracle until we can afford a home. Capitalism is about social classes. No one without the other. Which means that some Americans are going to have to NOT afford home ownership. It ought to be prestigious to some degree anyway, right?

You heard Barack? You heard McCain? Not a populist opinion. But a fact none the less.

Happy voting in November folks!