Readers suggested a topic on the latest government housing proposals. “What about the proposal to save the U.S. housing market by offering foreign investors a sweet deal on obtaining a Visa?”
A reply, “If we are serious about scamming these marks, give them automatic dual citizenship, so we can tax all their overseas earnings. Doesn’t Congress have any serious work to do?”
Another wrote, “Need more people to get the pyramid economy cranking again. Bring in new blood since the natives have been bled dry.”
One said, “The thing is that in so many foreign countries things aren’t so rosy: kidnappings, riots, drug lords, etc. A lot of people want to emigrate someplace where it’s still ’safe’. My brother got his engineering degree at ITESM in Mexico (Mexico’s top engineering school). He told me the other day that the majority of his classmates managed to get themselves trasferred to the USA by their multinational employer (I have a cousin who is trying to do that right now).”
“Being middle to upper middle class in Mexico means have a big fat bullseye on your back. You aren’t wealthy enough to afford bodyguards but rich enough to pay a ransom. Memo to American cubicle dwellers: coming soon to your neighborhood.”
And this, “Has anyone come up with any vibrant new solutions to fixing the U.S. housing market, or are we collectively stuck with the same tired old neo-Keynesian proposals over the foreseeable time horizon?”
Finally, “It’s about the jobs, plain and simple. And there’s no fix for that, without stopping the outsourcing, and ending illegal immigration. And since illegal immigration and outsourcing are favored by the 1%ers, it means that there is no fix.”
The Wall Street Journal. “About four years ago, as the housing bust worsened, our country faced an entirely predictable problem: A huge wave of foreclosures was headed our way. The issue of the day was how to stop it before it engulfed the entire economy. My suggestion then was to revive the Depression-era Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, which refinanced about a tenth of all the mortgages in America and closed its books with a small profit. Never mind the details; the suggestion was ignored. Maybe there were better ideas, anyway.”
“Sadly, however, we did almost nothing to stop the predicted foreclosure wave, which is now drowning us. The issue at this late date is how we can mitigate the damage. One oft-repeated answer comes from the intellectual descendants of Andrew Mellon and Herbert Spencer: liquidate, liquidate, liquidate. Let the housing market find its natural bottom, and the chips fall where they may.”
“I beg to differ. Some of the reasons are humanitarian. Millions of foreclosures are ruining millions of lives and devastating many communities. We can do better than Social Darwinism.”
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