The Obama administration apparently releases yet another trial balloon to get America's mind off the worsening housing slump.
According to the New York Times, someone inside the administration (probably more than one of 'em) still seems to think pumping lots of loose cash into the re-fi market is the way to go.
What's the goal here? Giving consumers another turn at the free money trough prior to voting in November 2012?
Easy money got us into this mess. Spreading around more will only dig us deeper.
Why not let real estate set its own price?
Rather than move to artificially stimulate things and make them look better than they are, why not let housing fall to a level where people will buy? For many, it could be the chance of a lifetime.
Houses in many communities can now be had for under 10-grand. Sometimes under five grand.
Why not encourage people of modest means to buy at these levels?
Savvy do-it-yourselfers could renovate many of these homes into nice, livable abodes for just a few thousand more. Maybe private charties along the line Habitat for Humanity could assist families with renovation know-how.
Think about it. For about what most people pay in rent for a year, a family could buy a house that's theirs to keep free and clear.
I know of an immigrant family who came to the U.S. just a decade or two ago. They saved. Bought a foreclosure. Renovated. They own the American dream. No mortgage.
Why can't lifelong Americans catch the same vision?
Many simply don't see the possibility. We've been conditioned to be in debt. Mortgages are an assumed necessity. But are they really?
Nothing would create stability in our communities more than growing numbers of people who own their own homes free and clear. Think of the disposable income that people would have if they didn't have to pay rent or a mortgage.
Government hasn't caught the vision yet. Based on the latest reported proposal, government's still trying to reinvent the house as an ATM model.
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