1.23.2009

Victims of the housing bubble

I do my best to keep track of Greenspan's Body Count. But to paraphrase the immortal lyrics of Megadeth,

The arsenal of Greenspan can't be rid they said
And if it comes, the living will envy the dead

The living victims of the housing bubble may not yet envy the dead, but they are victims nonetheless.

Consider:

Victim #1: W.C. Varones. A man who would love to own a home in his community, a community in which all homes are still priced at insane multiples of rent and median incomes. And the government is using Varones' own tax dollars on a wide variety of ventures designed to keep housing prices unaffordable.

Victim #2: A close associate of W.C. Varones. A man who bought a luxury 1-bedroom condo in the bubble. He now yearns to move his young family to a bigger home, but cannot bring himself to dump the condo at a loss.

Victim #3: A close associate of W.C. Varones. He owns homes in two cities, though, curiously, lives in only one at a time. His mortgages are like a millstone around his neck.

Regular Americans are screwed, whether they participated in the bubble or sat it out. The only winners are the bankers like Angelo Mozilo, Franklin Raines, and Henry Paulson who cashed out at the top, and politicians like Chris Dodd who took bribes from the bankers.

I personally know many, many more victims of the housing bubble. You do, too.

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