We have reached a point in our economy where numbers are deceiving us.
- The stock market is near record levels
- Inflation is low despite record oil prices
- National unemployment is low
The latest information says that we now have a record number of homes standing vacant... homes where the owner has simply had to leave after a fruitless effort to sell the property. Home prices have dropped 10-15% in some markets... and few are finding buyers.While the situation is not uniform throughout the U.S., there is enough evidence to show that unless the housing market is repaired quickly, this can become a very bad recession for the U.S.
In Michigan, about 10% of the real estate agents have left the business. One could argue that there were too many in the business to begin with, but the drop is still significant.Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's singular focus on inflation makes it blind to other economic issues. High paying jobs are disappearing so fast that people are taking any job with a paycheck, accumulated wealth is disappearing, and federal and state governments respond by keeping borrowing costs high and raising taxes .
Hold on to your hats and wallets!See this previous post for more.
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