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| quote: | Originally posted by steven-neil
I don't know if this is the case all over but it seems to me that greedy property developers fucked things up in FL.. |
Essentially. With interest rates being 1% in 2003 and 2004, cheap money fueled the homebuilders ability to grow at unsustainable levels. I can assure you their greed has been punished by the massive losses they've sustained.
Foreclosing an entire neighborhood leads to dramatic increases in crime. People need to survive and if they can't secure income in any way, they will take it. If you are surrounded by houses for sale, I'd take as many security measures as possible to protect your asset and the people who reside in it.
Take heart in the fact that Vegas is much worse then FL, developers just kept building out in the desert and for miles there are nothing but empty houses. Estimates have put the numbers near 50,000 built new homes as well as another 20,000 with delinquencies about to foreclose. Miami specifically had the everglades to prevent developers from too overboard. In Vegas it was just cheap desert extended for miles.
| quote: | Originally posted by jerZ07002
On a somewhat related note, the proposed economic stimulus package is, well, unbelievably nearsighted and doesn't solve the underlying problem with this economy (well, one of the underlying problems - ignoring the glaring debtor nation issue). Giving households a rebate check in july or even later will not solve the problem that banks are tightening their lending standard which results in greater borrowing costs to those who can obtain lending. Furthermore, consumers are the most nearsighted element in our economy, and they will simply buy some chinese shit and send alot of that money right back to china (which, not coincidentally, is the same place where we are getting it from). So, essentially, we are borrowing money from china, accruing interest, just to send the money right back. The result will be less effect on the US economy than expected, and massive interest charges being sent back to china. Great stuff. (obviously an oversimplification).
if the government wants to solve the problem it should buy the debt from the banks and transfer it to a quasi-governmental corporation to administer the debt, (it could also modify the debt to help those struggling). That would solve some of the liquidity in the market, and would also result in a return of some of the debt to the government. It wouldn't solve the housing price problems though.
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The stimulus itself won't do anything at all. We're talking about a 200 Billion dollar temporary tax rebate trying to offset the effects of a 2 Trillion dollar depreciation in housing. It is barely a drop in the bucket and I do not like it.
The one thing the stimulus does is say to the average Americans who are not educated in economics that the government is actively trying to fix the situation. This may help, but it will not cause them to resume their unsustainable spending habits.
As for the monolines there is something which has to be done here. If these companies go under the financial markets will seize like an 80,000 mile old engine without oil. I personally do not believe the government should engineer this solution, but place carrots and sticks in the right areas encouraging the banks involved in this messes to figure something out. It could be done via a holding company somehow, although this is not really my area of expertise so I won't pretend like I have the solution.
I do not want to burden the taxpayer with any more debt then we already have and a stimulus or monoline rescue will do this. Medicare and Medicade are basically unfunded after 2012 and many people do not understand how dire of an issue this will become in the future.
Eco is right on about education, it is the silver bullet. An educated populus is tolerant, hard working, and ethically stable. Education's effects take many years to percolate throughout society which is why education budgets get mauled in times of economic downturn.
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In the beginning there was Jack. And Jack had a groove. And from this groove came the groove of all grooves. And while one day viciously throwing down on his box Jack boldly declared "Let there be house!" And house music was born. I am the creator and this is my house and in my house there is only house music. But I am not so selfish because once you enter my house it then becomes our house and our house music and you see no one man owns house because house music is a universal language spoke and understood by all. You see, house is a feeling that no one can understand really unless you're deep into the vibe of house. House is an uncontrollable desire to jack your body and as I told you before this is our house and our house music. In every house you understand, there is a keeper and in this house the keeper is Jack.
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