Housing

Housing Construction Falls

Armand Biroonak — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:00:00 -0700

The Commerce Department reported that both housing construction starts and permits for future construction fell by more than 6 percent in August. August was the worst month for housing construction since January 1991.

VIDEO: GOP Brags That McCain Will Continue Bush's Economic Legacy

David Sirota — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:21:23 -0700

Last week, I appeared on Fox News to discuss the inflammatory comments by Phil Gramm (John McCain's top economic advisor) and how those comments really epitomize the Republican Party's country clubbish, let-them-eat-cake outlook on the economy. Notice about half-way through as the Republican strategist I'm debating actually acknowledges that McCain's major idea for fixing the economy is continuing George W. Bush's tax policies - and that when she's called out for saying that, she tries to deny what she just said:

The interchange is instructive for two reasons.

First and foremost is the admission: namely, that Republicans still want America to believe that the way to steady the economy is to follow Bush's efforts to slash taxes for millionaires. As I show in the very first chapter of my book, this is a prescription being rejected even in some of the most conservative parts of the country.

Second, there is the denial: When called onto the carpet for wanting to continue the policies of the most unpopular president in history, Republicans start running for cover to the point of claiming they never said what they just said. The denial is a tacit acknowledgment of the power of the populist uprising now boiling throughout the country. The GOP knows the country is very angry at conservatives' free market fundamentalism - and so will deny and obfuscate to pretend they aren't championing such fundamentalism.

Of course, moments after appearing on Fox, my email in-box was filled with hate mail from conservative viewers. For instance, Dave in Bokeelia, Florida told me "Gramm was abolutely correct" in blaming Americans for the economic downturn, then asked, "Why don't you get and your boyfriend move to Denmark or some other socialist country?" (apparently, he's not aware I'm happily married to my wife, Emily). Then he declared, "Obama has already lost, you moron."

A guy named Charles angrily asked, "When did raising taxes ever stimulate economic growth?" then said "raising taxes will only cause a deeper recession," and added "Do your homework before berating someone on television." Apparently, he forgot that our most recent economic boom during the 1990s came immediately after President Clinton raised taxes on the wealthy.

My favorite was from a guy named Steve who wrote, "hey girlyboy, do you have any idea how pitiful you look to normal folks when you open your sissy moth beging the government to help?" (that is his spelling - for real).

These comments show how powerful conservative propaganda has been - it has convinced a number (albeit a dwindling one, according to polling data) of people to believe that the real problem in our country is that we have too few royalists running the government - not too many. Though this conservative ideology is clearly on the ropes, the Fox News clip shows that the GOP is going to continue trying to ram it down our throats.

This is an ongoing series from the national tour for THE UPRISING. You can order The Uprising at Amazon.com or through your local independent bookstore.

The Housing Crisis and The Plague of Potomac Fever

David Sirota — Fri, 02 May 2008 05:10:53 -0700

We have been trained to think of states as the supposed "laboratories of democracy," but what they really are these days are a check and balance against federal inaction and Potomac Fever. That's the case I make in my newspaper column out today - especially as it relates to the housing crisis.

Last month, this situation was exemplified by the front page of the Washington Post. On one side was this story, headlined "Housing Accord Puts Builders First; Strapped Homeowners Offered Little Aid." On another side of the page, was this story, headlined, "Sweeping Bills Passed To Help Homeowners." The former was about Congress moving to use the housing crisis as a justification to give Big Money interests yet another taxpayer-funded handout. The latter was about state lawmakers using their power to better regulate the financial industry and try to help regular folks.

Such a contrast has been seen all over the country. As states move to crack down on predatory lending and abusive mortgage fees, lawmakers like Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., have been telling reporters "it's irrelevant" how many—if any—homeowners are ever helped by anything Congress does in reaction to the housing crisis. As state legislators use their platforms to demand serious aid to borrowers, Washington moves to construct a bailout for financial firms.

This is the contrast between minimally healthy (though certainly imperfect) democratic systems in the states, and a federal government ravaged by Potomac Fever—the illness whereby professional politicians forget who they were elected to serve. I offer some ideas on what precisely causes this kind of Potomac Fever in the column, and how state action may be the only hope to shock that disease out of the system.

Whether that happens or not, however, states are leading the way on the major issues of the day - as they always have. The progressive movement tends to be almost solely focused on Washington, D.C. and federal elections - but as the Right showed throughout the 1980s and 1990s, states are where the rubber really hits the road on major issues - and especially money issues (and this is why, for instance, I devote so much of my time, energy and activism to the Progressive States Network).

You can read the whole column at the San Francisco Chronicle, Denver Post, Ft. Collins Coloradoan, Credo Action, In These Times or Creators. You can listen to a podcast of the column here. The column relies on grassroots support, so if you'd like to see my column regularly in your local paper, use this directory to find the contact info for your local editorial page editors. Get get in touch with them and point them to my Creators Syndicate site. Thanks, as always, for your ongoing readership and help contacting local editors. This column couldn't be what it is without your help.

Newsflash: Populism Is Popular

David Sirota — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:08:50 -0700

Whenever pundits and political elites express surprise at the power of populism, I always think back to the tongue-in-cheek headline of Chris Hayes' In These Times article that read "Economic Populism Proves Popular." Populism is an ideology that says that government should - gasp! - reflect what actual people want. It is just so damn funny when the same political Establishment professing reverence for our democracy then expresses outrage and surprise that politicians once in a while are forced to reflect what the public wants.

So I was laughing today when I read this Bloomberg News piece breathlessly telling us that "Democrats Pushing Obama, Clinton Toward Populism" - as if that's something so outrageous and odd as to be shocking. Here's the critical news from Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Carolina - three states whose primaries are coming up:

Democrats in all three states had a negative view of trade, with 58 percent in Indiana, 55 percent in Pennsylvania and 61 percent in North Carolina saying it has hurt the economy. At least three in 10 in each state say it hurt a lot.

This finding conforms with earlier polling showing voters of both parties are sick and tired of lobbyist-written trade policies that undermine our economy and destroy the environment and human rights in the developing world.

Additionally, the same poll shows the public is angry about our politicians using their power to hand over more goodies to the banks and Wall Street firms that created the financial crisis:

A majority in each state favors a government bailout of homeowners in danger of foreclosure, according to a Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll of likely Democratic voters...After mortgage lenders, voters in the three states faulted insufficient government regulation, as well as irresponsible borrowers, for the housing crisis...Respondents in all three states say, by margins of 2 to 1 or better, that the federal government should regulate the financial industry more aggressively.

That news outlets seem so surprised that the public supports populist policies to deal with our economic crisis just shows how out of touch with mainstream public opinion our political elite is from the rest of the country.

US housing starts sag, core prices up modestly

Alex Carter — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:49:56 -0700

U.S. home building skidded to a 17-year low last month while consumer prices rose slightly less than expected, leaving policy-makers room to cut interest rates further to ward off a housing-led slowdown.

Housing Woes in U.S. Spread Around Globe

Alex Carter — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:31:12 -0700

The collapse of the housing bubble in the United States is mutating into a global phenomenon, with real estate prices swooning from the Irish countryside and the Spanish coast to Baltic seaports and even parts of northern India.

Studies show housing crisis disproportionately affects women

Alex Carter — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:43:42 -0700

Women on average were already in a more precarious economic position than men, and they appear to be taking much of the housing crisis hit. Sales and prices are down. Foreclosures have spiked in Georgia and across the nation. No one yet has a breakdown of the damage by gender. But studies show that women accounted for more than their share of the risky loans at the crest of the lending and buying boom.

Agency Is Under Pressure to Develop Disaster Housing

Alex Carter — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:30:45 -0700

After the federal government announced in February that it would no longer use travel trailers to house the victims of future disasters, there was an initial sense of relief along the hurricane-scarred Gulf Coast.

Home foreclosure bill passes Senate

Alex Carter — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:04:27 -0700

Florida Sens. Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez voted for a housing relief bill Thursday intended to help homeowners and builders, but both expressed disappointment the measure didn't do more to help individuals keep their homes.

Senate Approves Housing Package

Alex Carter — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:50:35 -0700

The Senate yesterday gave overwhelming approval to a modest package of tax breaks and other provisions aimed at easing the nation's housing crisis, while Democrats in both chambers pressed for more ambitious legislation to aid more than a million homeowners most at risk of foreclosure.