If you don’t know why that title is funny, I pity you. And I wish I could explain it without ruining the joke. Oh well. Some of you are just left out.
I’m still here, just not blogging much. But I wanted to sound off on the housing market and the Fed’s new call for a stimulus package. I just keep thinking, if people can’t afford homes, maybe it’s okay if the prices drop to reflect people’s incomes. Crazy idea, I know. I know everyone’s terrified of the dreaded r word, but I see it as a chance for the economy to self correct. We can’t keep lowering interest rates, that’s how people make money. The Fed told congress the recommended stimulus package should only be temporary and congress should make sure it has the resources behind the package. Oh, and they should extend the tax cuts. Temporarily.
Anyone else’s eyebrows curling up at that? So you want Congress to pass a $50 billion stimulus package, cut taxes, and make sure they don’t increase the deficit.
Good luck with that one.
Congress and the housing market have the same problem. They keep trying to get things they can’t afford.
I’m left out. If anyone else wants to risk ruining the joke, I’d like to hear what it means.
By: sara on January 17, 2008
at 12:23 pm
Since I don’t know when the others will read this (or if they even will, they’re too busy snogging), I’ll try to explain.
My son has this book and you unfold it and it says “mommy loves you. daddy loves you. Jesus loves you. House.” The non sequitur is amusing.
By: granolagirl on January 17, 2008
at 12:43 pm
Hehe. I love that book!
And I agree. Recessions don’t kill people. People kill people.
By: emmilee on January 17, 2008
at 1:08 pm
Every now and again, people need to feel the repercussions of their poor choices. Does it suck for the family suckered into a sub-prime mortgage? Yeah. But they’ll never, ever do it again.
By: Jesse Harris on January 17, 2008
at 4:55 pm
If the American house prices keep dropping you guys are going to end up with a whole lot more Canadian neighbours than you may want.
By: shannon on January 18, 2008
at 10:47 am
But Jesse, don’t you know, it wasn’t their poor choices. It was the evil banks, it’s their fault! The the government should rescue them now. /sarcasm
In all honesty, I agree. In the course of our marriage we made some pretty stupid financial decisions and we had to pay for them. Now we’re extremely cautious with anything involving money. It sucks getting duped, but it was a lesson learned.
By: granolagirl on January 18, 2008
at 6:19 pm
You know what though? I heard on NPR about these home loans that had – buried deep in the paperwork, a clause that caused their interest rate to spike to an unmanageable level if they made any prepayment at all. Add in an extra $50 on your mortgage payment – and BAM! You can’t afford your house anymore. I’ve also heard about industry tactics like crooked appraisers inflating home prices, making up fake paychecks so people qualify for loans they can’t afford – I really do think there are victims among the people who are now getting kicked out of their houses.
By: Shauna on January 19, 2008
at 1:04 pm
“When a mommy and a daddy love each other very much, the daddy wants to give the mommy a special gift.”
http://stayathomeserver.com/book.aspx
By: Michael Johnson on January 21, 2008
at 2:24 pm