2.16.2012

Greenspan's Body Count: Woodrow Wilson Hall Jr. and Barbara Ann Hall

Greenspan's Body Count today returns to the great bubble state of Florida.

Ocala:

Barbara Ann Hall, 66, was shot four times in the head with a .38 revolver by her 68-year-old husband Woodrow Wilson Hall Jr., who placed a .44 Magnum in his mouth and pulled the trigger, according to a report released Wednesday.

[...]

The couple's daughter told the detective her parents argued over finances and said her mother wanted to move closer to her in Jacksonville because she was having a child, but her father did not want to move.

The daughter and son-in-law told Diaz the couple were behind in their mortgage payments by $5,000 and that Barbara Hall had suggested that her husband sell his Corvette, which was "a hot button topic" since he loved the car.
The Halls appear to have bought the property in 1998 for $95,000.  If they'd put 20% down and got a then-prevailing 7% rate on a 30-year mortgage, they'd pay $506 a month and would now owe less than $60,000 on a house worth more than $100,000.

But it must have been pretty tempting to suck out some "home equity" when Greenspan's bubble floated that house value over $200,000.  Daddy needs a new Corvette!

I think Bernanke may get an assist on this one. Hall was a retired superintendent from Michigan schools, so he presumably had at least a modest pension in addition to his odd jobs. But Bernanke's food, gas, and utility inflation has been brutal on retired folk -- to say nothing of 0% interest on their savings.

Greenspan's Body Count stands at 209.

3 comments:

Negocios Loucos said...

Someone named Woodrow Wilson X is a victim of Greenspan's psychopathy?!? Ohhhh the irony....

Anonymous said...

As someone under 35, I'm having real trouble coming up with sympathy for retired folks like this couple, pushing 70 years old.

They've presumably lived on their own for over 40 years. They bought a low-priced house in their mid-50s. They don't live in an expensive area. They both received Soc Sec. At least one had a pension. And they "had trouble with the mortgage"? Boo hoo.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous above is an ass. I knew this man and his daughter. No one is asking for your sympathy for their situation, but at least have some respect.....

Happy Super Tuesday!