A few months ago, I overheard someone discussing selling their home and buying a new one. She was lamenting the fact that they were doing a short sale, selling the house for less than they bought it for. The woman and her friend then proceeded to moan and groan about the buyer who was “stealing” their equity money.

Wait, what? Who is actually the thief in this situation? When you buy a house, you agree to pay a certain amount of money for it. The couple doing the short sale has dishonored that commitment, thereby “stealing” money from the bank. The new couple has not yet broken any financial promises.

When thinking about the housing market in 2010, words like short sale, foreclosures, and upside down mortgages come to mind. Remember back in the early 2000s, when you could buy a house with no equity, hold on to it for a couple of months, then flip it and cash out thousands in equity?

Maybe that ease of purchase is exactly what led to the rapidly declining real estate market. What’s to make someone hold on to a home when they have nothing invested in it? Easy come; easy go, as they say.

Once a few people realized they were in over their heads with their massive mortgages, they dumped them onto the market and moved into housing more within their means. With a dramatic increase in the number of houses on the market, the overall value of homes continued to decline.

Inflation continues to rise, and more people are filing for unemployment benefits than ever before. A few years ago, people could open a home equity line of credit to cover their living costs, but now they must find other ways to make ends meet. Employers aren’t excited to hire anyone right now; they’re trying to figure out how many people they’re going to be able to keep on board with new health insurance mandates and the biggest tax increase in history right around the corner.

Many people, like the woman I overheard, are dumping their homes on the market, while the banks pick up the tab. Ever heard of the bank bailouts? Taxpayer dollars are bailing out the banks that bailed out irresponsible homebuyers.

It’s a vicious cycle that can only be stopped by believing in people and encouraging them to be responsible. As we’ve seen, bailouts only enable those who take advantage of the system. Our economy is an intricate yet simple machine, but the cogs aren’t turning right now. Let’s bring back the concept of personal responsibility and restore America to the land of freedom, integrity, and opportunity once more.

Cross Posted at The Stir

July 2010 saw the slowest pace of new home sales since 1963. In the same month, Congress extended unemployment benefits for a fourth time, adding another $34 billion to the deficit to help out 2.5 non-working Americans.

The Associated Press says, “High unemployment, slow job growth, and tight credit have kept people from buying homes.” In other words, a bad economy is scaring people away from purchasing new homes.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s wrong with our economy. It just takes a conservative.

When Mr. Obama went to Washington, he promised a lot of people a lot of things. He was going to pay their mortgages! He was going to pay their gas bills! He might as well have promised everyone a unicorn ride over a double rainbow and fat-free ice cream that actually tastes good.

The government doesn’t work that way. The government can’t take care of you; only other people can take care of you. The 99 weeks of unemployment Joe Schmoe is entitled to? Someone is paying that. Someone is paying for him to not work, instead of using that money to hire someone who will work.

Since the employer is busy paying someone to not work instead of paying someone to work, no goods or services are produced or rendered. No goods or services, no sales. No sales, no money. The employer goes out of business, and the few employees that were left working there are now out of work. But don’t worry about them; they’ll get unemployment checks from the government. To pay for them, Uncle Sam is going to raise taxes on the companies left standing. And then … those companies might have to downsize to cover the costs on the new taxes. It’s a vicious cycle.

New home sales are down because people are afraid to make such large purchases in times of economic uncertainty. We’re living in economic uncertainty because no one knows what new mandate or regulation is going to pass into law next. The tax burden of these entitlement laws falls on employers, who pass it along to their employees and consumers in the form of layoffs and higher prices.

Free health care? Ninety-nine weeks of unemployment benefits?

Sure. At the expense of the American Dream: A decent job and a beautiful new home.

Cross Posted at The Stir

Nancy Pelosi asserts that unemployment benefits are great for the economy. “It creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative you can name,” she says.

In other news:

• Candy bars are good for weight loss
• Never saying no to your children makes them well-behaved
• The best way to help an addict is to enable him or her

Good or bad, stimulating or not, how in the world does welfare help the economy? Make no mistake, unemployment checks are welfare. It’s money that you get for not working. I have friends that refer to their unemployment as a paid vacation, and are annoyed when they actually have to go find a job when their benefits run out.

How does requiring employers to pay former employees for NOT WORKING free up more cash for them to hire new people? Someone please explain this to me.

H/T Breitbart TV

This story ticks me off. It sounds more like something that would happen in Cuba, rather than good ol’ US of A.

Desperate times call for desperate measures – even if it means camping out in the rain for a chance at a job application.

Hundreds of job-seekers did just that in Queens in the hopes of landing a coveted union job.

Construction workers, engineers, electricians — hundreds spent the weekend right here. Many left with a job application, while many others walked away empty-handed.

“The sky’s the limit after this!” said Aaron Johnson of Mount Vernon.

Johnson is living month-to-month, struggling to pay the bills, with a 4-year-old daughter to support — and he was one of the lucky ones.

After three days of sleeping on the street, he left with one of just 750 job applications handed out for a position as an elevator technician apprentice — a secure job with pension and benefits and an earning potential up to $40 an hour.

“You don’t wanna keep working these dead-end jobs, check to check to check to check. I don’t want to do that anymore,” Johnson said.

More than 1,000 eager applicants began lining up as early as Friday morning armed with a variety of skills — and warm blankets.

Though many near the end of the line knew they probably wouldn’t even get an application, desperation to land a job fueled their determination to stand on line anyway — and hope for the best.

“I got laid off and that’s why I’m here, looking for my future,” said Benny Rodriguez of Flushing, Queens.

“Oh it’s real tough. Last night I was watching the news and they said 1 out of 10 New Yorkers are out of work. And it’s not getting any better,” said Scott Power of Patchogue.

But for the fortunate few who walked out with the precious piece of paper, things may be looking up.

“Right here, baby girl … she’s depending on my in three years to have the big house … and that’s what I’m working on,” Johnson said.

The union plans to hire about 75 people — and possibly more depending on the economy.

Has anyone ever heard of Stockholm Syndrome? The fact that these people are idolizing the union and practically begging for scraps (even $40/hour is scraps when compared to what the Big Bosses rake in) drives me bonkers. These unions dangle out enticing bait, and people jump at it. People waited in that line for days with the hope of winning the lottery and not having to work those “dead end” jobs anymore.

Here’s a thought — maybe a person should develop their skills, talk to their employer about moving up the ladder, and put their nose to the grindstone. Anyone that has time while unemployed to sit outside in the cold for days for the slim chance of winning a union job is not trying very hard to get a job. Do you have any idea how many interviews you can do in three days? Job applications you can fill out? Free online typing classes you can take at the public library?

The unions don’t really want to help the little guy. They want to keep the little guy little. I want to build someone up, give them the tools to succeed, and the encouragement to help them on their path. Unions tell people that they’re not smart enough to take care of themselves, and they should be thankful if they happen to catch one of their positions.

Geez. Have a little faith in yourself. Unions sure don’t have faith in you.