tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5090403.post8766229399078426522..comments2008-09-17T15:31:15.609-06:00y-intercepthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389285761013186443noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5090403.post-46026354817266917402008-09-17T15:31:00.000-06:002008-09-17T15:31:00.000-06:00KD, you say: <BR/><BR/>"Our two presidential candidates seem to believe that the fix to the problem is a new regulatory regime that will renew faith in our mortgages"<BR/><BR/>Shirley you must be mistaken. This behavior, while expected from liberals, coming from McSame, a "Ronald Reagan Republican"? A proposal to increase government regulation of the economy? The pillars of Reaganomics are quaking at the thought.Anonymous Cowardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5090403.post-59458563316286197882008-09-16T10:26:00.000-06:002008-09-16T10:26:00.000-06:00I don't think the housing market woes are simply the fault of buyers. There is a huge demand for starter homes, but no-one is building such things these days.<BR/><BR/>The formulas set by bankers dictate the size of the house by the price of the land. In their formula, You don't put a $10k house on a $300k piece of land. <BR/><BR/>I think you are correct that social engineers want a society where people are chained down by massive consumer debt.y-intercepthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389285761013186443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5090403.post-35035915616617686912008-09-15T20:29:00.000-06:002008-09-15T20:29:00.000-06:00Homes consume a larger portion of income largely because we have substantially increased the square footage of living space per person. The cost of housing per square foot in constant (inflation-adjusted) dollars has remained relatively constant. But we want bigger houses, we have smaller families, and we have many more split families that occupy multiple homes than we used to have. Thus, homes consume more of our income.<BR/><BR/>We also have an industry that is intent on keeping people in debt, encouraging them to use their home equity as a cash box to buy consumer goods and to travel.<BR/><BR/>Our cultural attitudes need some adjustment.Reach Upwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.com