Obama Needs to Focus on Housing, Not Health Reform

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As someone whom is involved in the foreclosure business on a day to day basic I can say that the issue is far worse than reported. I drive through neighborhoods with numerous vacant, newer homes which are not yet being marketed or processed. I am in the neighborhoods evaluating, already foreclosed homes.
I cannot imagine how the banks will be able to stay afloat with all these losses and I believe that things are much more serious than Obama or the main stream media which props him up are telling us.

D Chastain of OH 7:38PM May 22, 2010

I'm glad that the dogs have been turned loose on the scent of the beast that has cause the housing market(financial) problems. Good Luck and may God give you the Courage to follow the course

Frank Bradley of NC 10:37AM March 15, 2010

For some reason, many people (Republicans in general) believe that having a sixth of our economy tied up in healthcare is okay. It's not okay. It is morally and economically indefensible.
I don't like the healthcare reform bill, but the fact there were no facts debated, in fact no real debate, has been very disheartening.
For too long our politicians have been wrapped up in making history, ignoring history in the process. Here's a example...
HMOs came into existence a little over 30 years ago, because insurance companies, which were actually ethical and financial sound due to real regulation, were getting out of the losing health care business. HMOs pool insureds... much of the same kind of arguments were are hearing today as saviors to "the system."
HMOs actually did a fairly good job in those early years, but then something happened. These HMOs, which were non-profits, became incorporated and started selling stock, even though there is no economically sound reason to do so.
HMOs in those early years were succeeding. They were paying out 94 cents of every premium dollar to the medical expenses of its insureds. The six cents provided for overhead and profit. However, today, HMOs are paying out around 81 cents toward claims--a medical loss ratio of 0.81, with the remainder for overhead and profit. This is on trillions of dollars in premiums, and by my math, nearly fifteen cents is getting gobbled up by executive compensation and Wall Street, mostly hedge funds.
This system is immoral. Americans are paying twice what other industrialized countries are paying for healthcare, their results are better and everyone is insured. An perfect example of the immorality of system, beyond 45,000 Americans dying each year without coverage, is the greed of CEOs like the head of United Health Group, Bill McGuire, who took $800 milllion out of the company for himself--he would have taken $1.6 billion were it not for his getting his hands slapped for back-dating options.
America, like the media that writes such columns as this, is corrupt.

carl lee of MN 10:00AM March 09, 2010

Mort Zuckerman would make a great senator!
The one thing he would need to do is to always speak (and thus vote) intelligently--as I think he would do most of the time-- as opposed to mouthing the Republican party line, which, lately, is obstructionist at best, and perniciously stupid at its worst.
If Mort Zuckerman can somehow get nominated to be the Republican candidate (fighting off the Tea Baggers and others of their ilk who make up too much of the Republican base), I am pretty sure that he, like Brown in Massachusettes, would get elected.
Clearly, the long term most efficient way to clear the real estate market is to not stand in the way of all the foreclosures that may be coming--which might very well send the economy into a crash. The trouble with this is that millions of people will suffer--especially those that can least withstand it.
But as Lord Keynes noted: In the long term, we are all dead. Mort Zuckerman will be able to survive (comfortably) any crash. But the suffering for many Americans going through an economic crash will be excruciating.

Steve Wang of PA 10:46PM March 01, 2010

opie - given the number of posters on any given blog - it's doubtful that USNWR online even has that many readers anymore
rather than attempting to glean campaign ammo from half-dozen commenters at best - Mort would be much better off standing on a street corner somewhere & soliciting opinions!
and as to fair & unbiased nonpartian reporting by the media - what a joke . . . seems any vestiges of objective truth & honesty rather subjective hype & spin went out with the last century
professional has gone the way of the dinosaurs
AND anyone who thinks Washington is just fine & dandy {REGARDLESS OF PARTY} is seriously delusional - or early onset dementia {and at 72 years old, eh - perhaps Mr. Zuckerman should be seriously considering retiring to nice sunny Florida & enjoying his wealth rather than wasting his money attempting to add to the already inherent maladies}
ppl really do need to get out more though -- interesting what one overhears on the street {or in the beltway} - amazing - but don't believe everything y'all hear . . . do your OWN factfinding missions & seek the truth if you're sincerely interested in helping to make America a better place to live for ALL of us - not merely your OWN party {or your own political beliefs & interests whatever they may be!}
please try to form your OWN opinions rather than what all the pompous political pundits & talking bobbleheads tell you they ought to be - while grandious political soundbytes merely add to the noise & confusion
you can continue to fiddle while America burns OR everyone can decide to get out there & help do something about it - and willingness to work TOGETHER can accomplish far & away so much more than continual PARTISAN POSTURING . . . whatever ones platform {or address} happens to be
{will climb down from the soap box now & allow someone else to use the corner for a change - IF ANYONE is out there?! have to finish shovelling snow! ugh}

tiger lily of DC 8:43PM March 01, 2010

It's seriously inappropriate for Mr. Zuckerman to be writing this column in his capacity as Editor in Chief. He is 1) a real estate billionaire, 2) reportedly considering a Senate run, 3) considering registering as a member of the opposition party to the President for that Senate run. These combine to create several layers of potential conflict of interest:
1. He is a real estate billionaire who would presumably benefit personally from aggressive action to reduce foreclosure rates.
2. He can use reaction to this column as a message-testing platform for a Senate run he is reportedly considering.
3. Since he is reportedly considering registering as a Republican for the Senate run, his half-formed shot at the health care bill is particularly inappropriate. Whether right or wrong, it's a talking point, not analysis. It may curry favor with the GOP but it doesn't further anyone's understanding. Such comments risk turning this column into a politician's cudgel rather than an editor's opinions.
Mr. Zuckerman has every right to voice his opinion on this or any other issue, and it may well be that his analysis is spot on. I don't know enough about the housing market to weigh in on that. But those conflicts loom large over the writing. Any media professional considering a run for office should tread very, very lightly in this area. Someone who has been around politics and media for as long as Mr. Zuckerman should know that, but he has not done it.

Opie Curious of DC 2:41PM March 01, 2010

it's notable that the GenXers were never interested in STARTER HOMES - remember those? the smaller older ones our parents bought, and then when they could AFFORD to buy bigger - they moved up
now everyone wants the brand NEW McMansions in the burbs right off the bat {with all the shiny beamers planted in the driveways}
however when they over inflate their incomes to qualify for a loan they couldn't actually afford in the 1st place - and then lose a job . . . even if they could find a buyer - they will still owe more than the house is now worth
not a pretty picture anymore - but rather another one of life's lessons learned the hard way . . .
AND to add to the grim situation - even many of the MODIFIED LOANS are also failing. in some cases it turns out they were merely throwing good money after bad and would have been better off to STOP trying to keep paying their mortgages & start SAVING their money instead - to be able to come up with 1st & last months rent plus security deposits.
sady many will eventually end up homeless - with all of their worldly goods piled out on the curb
and apparently the end isn't even on the horizon yet
for those who have lost everything - it will be hard to find much comfort in having to apply for "government subsidized health care" . . . yes HC reform is needed BUT what on earth was the Obama administration thinking when they failed to place the ECONOMY AND JOBS AS NUMBER ONE PRIORITY ALL OF LAST YEAR?!?

tiger lily of DC 6:01AM March 01, 2010

After the dust settles we'll be able to see the floor of the housing market. The floor is not the same as the bottom. In many areas prices have dropped through the floor - however, these prices will rebound and find support at the "replacement cost" level.
In non trendy areas this number will be at about $100 - $125 per sq. ft. In tony - trendoid land the prices will depend on how the "fluff economy" of white collar paper pushing and chasing fares.
Long term I think a general pull back of 35- 45% should be expected. In my area prices have already bottomed at about 50- 60% around 6 months ago. For, instance, homes that sold during the frenzy of 2006 for around $325k are now about $150K.
Though on the west side of L.A./ Santa Monica, prices have only dropped around 10- 15% - held up by "location" and the "fluff economy". For instance, a 2 bedroom 900 square foot stucco box in Venice - blocks from the beach - is still over a million dollars. 30 miles inland it would be $100K. So there's still a lot of "air" in those prices.
Things are going to get worse as interest rates go up in response to government deficit spending and subsequent inflation - no way out of that under the current administration.

R.L. Schaefer of CA 1:27PM February 27, 2010

The housing markets in some parts of the country are going through necessary corrections in prices, although the near term effect is horrendous. Those of us who live in parts of the country where prices are much more modest didn't understand who could afford to buy those $500,000 to $750,000 houses in Southern California, Northern Virginia, New York, and the Boston area,for example, when they cost one third that in our areas. Obviously the buyers really couldn't afford them. The mortgage scams had to fail, evventually. Even a $203,500 median priced house is beyond the reach of most families in this country. New jobs that are being created pay $10 per hour. A couple with both working can afford at most a $100,000 house.
What's remarkable about 1 in 15 mortgage delinquents being current on credit card debt? Is that supposed to be good?
Let free-market economics work, and keep the Government out of this. Yes, the pain is almost unbearable. But this is a necessary economic correction. Housing prices have to come down to the level of affordability. Housing is about the only thing that kept the U.S. economy afloat for much of the past decade. We put all our economic eggs in one basket, and now the eggs are broken.

Alfred Thomas of OH 7:36PM February 26, 2010