There is an old saying that Americans will always do the right thing, but only after they have tried everything else first.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to make the transition. Latest example: visceral opposition to high-speed rail by those who should be thinking more innovatively. Consider Robert Samuelson’s recent column in the Washington Post– “A Rail Boondoggle, Moving at High Speed.” Samuelson cites the usual statistics–that we are an auto culture, that not enough people ride trains, that the costs are high. So, he concludes, President Obama’s commitment to high-speed passenger rail is a fool’s errand.

But Samuelson’s among those who has been playing this song for over 20 years. Their message has turned into a weird anomaly given what is happening around the rest of the globe.

First, lets look at the true subsidy costs of a mono focus on highway investment. At least $100 billion of state, county, and city general funds are invested every year in highways and highway costs. Those are direct subsidies to the highway system, outside of any “user pay” trust fund. The federal government has started to invest general funds into highways, in part because no one wants to actually have to pay for the costs of highways with an increase in user fees.

Second, there are over 2 million Americans injured every year on America’s roads, at an annual medical cost of over $200 billion. Saving half of that cost would pay the entire cost of health care reform over the next decade.

Third, the energy and environmental costs of our auto culture drive our defense and medical costs in ways that we have all agreed to turn a blind eye to–though the true cost is probably in the range of a half trillion dollars a year.

If we can manage to ignore the $750 billion cost of our highway fixation, then Samuelson’s argument makes some kind of weird sense–though you have to suspend logic, economics, and global experience to get there.

Why has every industrialized nation in the world made, and continues to make, large scale investments in high-speed rail? That’s what Samuelson’s argument can’t reach. If you look at the roll call of nations with high-speed passenger rail, it includes Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Japan, China, and South Korea. Could all of them be wrong? China alone is pursuing a 3,000-mile high-speed network. What propels all of these industrial nations to invest so seriously in this mode of transportation? They are making hardheaded decisions about their nation’s future and their economic self-interest. We have just started to do so.

In the U.S. House of Representative, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has marked up a reauthorization bill for highways and transit. The bill proposes to spend $550 billion over the next 6 years. The vast majority of those funds would go to the highway program. The bill would allocate $50 billion over the life of the bill for high-speed passenger rail. That’s less than 10 percent of our national transportation funding. The Samuelsons of the world may call it a waste. I see a humongous greater waste–the $750 billion we’re incurring, year-in and year-out, in the indirect costs we incur by failing to build alternatives to our transportation monoculture. That’s the unconscionable economic waste.

I am not suggesting that highways are going to be anything other than the dominant mode of transportation in the United States for a long time. I am suggesting that there are corridors, less than 500 miles long, where density and economic activity make high speed passenger rail the only viable mobility investment. The total trip time of air travel in those corridors, combined with the energy costs, makes high speed rail the logical choice and a far better choice than the costs of expanding highway capacity in those congested and dense corridors. For those trips, high-speed rail delivers you to the heart of the city, not to a remote airport. I am also suggesting that there is simply no comparison between the safety of a train trip verses the safety of an auto trip. In the end, we need a broader set of mobility choices than we have created for ourselves. The public seems to understand this, as editorial and public opinion polling is making clear.

What is discouraging in this debate is that someone as bright as Samuelson cannot think in broader, more expansive terms about the American future. We can do better. Yes, we can!

Tom Downs is chairman of the North American Board of Veolia Transportation and a former president of Amtrak. His e-mail is tmdowns1@aol.com.

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Lakeland Mayor Buddy Fletcher declares Oct. 1, 2009 W.W. Wolfson Day

First customers Anne Silvers and Melba Roberts | New store manager Bill Vollmer

photo credit: Chuck Welch for Lakeland Local

An associate at the store recently explained that the space will be gutted and basically rebuilt from the inside. That means new floors and cabinetry!

In the mean time, Apple fans can visit the Apple Store in Brandon at the Brandon Town Center Mall. All full-time employees from the Tampa location will be temporarily transferred to the Brandon store.

As many of you may be aware, there is a local chapter to this story.  Two years ago, Colonial had already made a slight impression in the local banking market with four branches, but tripled in size with the purchase of what was then Polk County’s largest locally-owned banking institution, the Bartow-based Citrus and Chemical Bank.

All Colonial branches, including the local offices, will reopen Monday as branches of BB&T.   All deposit and loan accounts have been transferred to BB&T.  Customers with questions or concerns can visit the Website http://www.bbt.com/bbt/colonial or call 1-877-469-1469.

When I read the BB&T Web page dealing with it’s new acquisition, I found it interesting that one of the sentences in the announcement seemed rather pointed — true, but pointed.  It reads:  “This means that effective immediately, Colonial Bank clients will benefit from the stability of a bank that is driven by values“.

According to Radio-Info.com, Rhythmic-formatted WLLD-FM will relocate to 94.1, while Smooth Jazz WSJT-FM switches to 98.7.

WLLD, popularly known as “WILD 98.7″ will vacate the Holmes Beach-licensed frequency it currently occupies and move to the Lakeland licensed 94.1 and it’s 100,000 watt transmitter near Fort Lonesome in southeast Hillsborough County.  In return, WSJT will move to the current WLLD frequency and 50,000 watt transmitter near Seminole in Pinellas County.

The Radio-Info.com piece noted that according to CBS Radio Market Manager Don Howe,  it was a case of matching the formats with the particular signals available.  Howe was quoted as saying that WSJT’s new signal would be better adapted to reaching in-office listening and the smooth jazz lifestyle in the Tampa Bay metro and the growing Sarasota market”

The move could be a precursor to more changes at WSJT.  Nationwide, several stations have turned from the Smooth Jazz format, leading a number of industry insiders to predict that the genre will be a thing of the past.

Packed with an arsenal of Internet marketing tools, the sites are optimized to assist participating dealerships in driving traffic to their personal Web sites, attracting valuable sales leads and increasing sales, said Mike Annable, co-founder of Showroom Logic.

Perhaps the most unique feature is dealers’ ability to have automatic updates sent to their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

“This is a valuable tool that isn’t offered by other companies,” Annable said. “Many dealers don’t take full advantage of social media outlets as marketing tools because they don’t want to invest the time, but this tool makes it convenient.”

Registration is simple and dealers pay a monthly fee for the services. There are no long-term contracts.

“Car dealers always are in search of new and innovative ways to connect with potential customers, and we’ve created the ideal mechanism that uses a variety of social media outlets to help them do that,” Annable said.

Showroom Logic uses search engine marketing tools to make it possible, said Patrick Bennett, who co-founded the business with Annable. Each car listed on the site is marketed individually so it will achieve ideal search engine rankings.

Because dealerships often want to measure the success of their marketing efforts- especially during these difficult economic times- Showroom Logic tracks all e-mail and phone leads for clients.

“This enables the dealer to see their return on investment,” Bennett said. “Because the marketing is so targeted, when someone comes to the Web site, they typically aren’t just browsing. Leads generated from these mechanisms are good, solid potential customers.”

The tracking information provides potential customers’ e-mail addresses and phone numbers.

Another valuable feature on the site is Car Chaser, which helps customers searching for specific cars. They complete a form and are notified when a car matching their criteria- such as price, make, model and year- gets added to the Web site, Bennett said. The inventory is checked every couple of hours and when a match is found, an e-mail is sent to the customer.

“We’re forward-thinking,” he said. “We’re always looking for ways to take advantage of the social media tools people are using these days to search for goods and services.”

Learn More

If you sell used cars in Tampa, Lakeland, Orlando or elsewhere in Florida and would like more information about how to sign up for Showroom Logic’s service, visit www.showroomlogic.com, www.used-cars-fl.com, or call (866) 994-1601, ext. 0.

That will also be true of our coverage of the Polk Neighborhood Stabilization Program (Polk NSP). Congress passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 to give $4.92 billion dollars to local communities to acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties. Approximately $14.5 million was given to Polk County to purchase and rehab at least 61 homes in the county. That program became Polk NSP. This week the organization announced they were open for business. Familiar with the process to this point, we met with the two principles to discuss the project.

The Goal

The goal of Polk NSP is to remove foreclosed, empty, or blighted homes from the market and place these homes in the hands of homebuyers who can afford to live in them. No one can purchase the inexpensive homes and flip them. The homebuyers must agree to live in the homes for a set number of years. Polk NSP will target 10 areas of the county that are in greatest need of help. These are low to moderate income communities hit hardest be the recent recession.

The Companies

The county commissioners chose not to implement Polk NSP on their own, but instead brought in development experts to manage and implement the program. They allowed various organizations to apply to manage the funds. In the end, they chose the process offered by a team of two Polk County organizations.

Swan Development Advisors will manage the program. The company, headed by Bruce Lyon, will undertake all of the paperwork needed to satisfy U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The company managing home rehabilitation, and handling training prospective home owners will be the Keystone Challenge Fund. Since 1991, Jeff Bagwell, President and Executive Director of the Fund, has worked in Polk County to provide education and affordable financing to low and moderate income homeowners.

To insure proper management of the funds, the two organizations proposed a unique method. HUD sets strict limits on how much of the money is used for administration and how much for home purchase and rehabilitation. Rather than mix the two amounts, Swan will simply get the administration funds, and Keystone the rest. The company will use a third-party, Baylis & Company CPA, to manage fund distribution.

The Homes

Polk NSP has already started the home buying process. They are bidding on the purchase of homes in 10 targeted areas in Polk County. Those areas were chosen as they exhibit a greater than average number of foreclosures, financed through a higher numbers of subprime loans, and are likely to face further foreclosures through loan defaults.

Homes can be purchased only if they meet certain criteria of location, condition, and price. Polk NSP hopes to demolish only a few “blighted” homes. The rest will be rehabbed to specific standards. Lyon mentioned they will replace roofing and appliances if the items have only a few years of life left. He and Bagwell emphasized they want to make sure new homeowners aren’t faced with such large replacement expenses in their new homes.

In addition to selling homes, Polk NSP will purchase and rehab a certain number of dwellings to be offered as rentals. The cost of the rentals will be based on the Fair Market Rents (FMR) index. Currently, Polk County FMR for a two-bedroom dwelling is $720.

The Polk NSP goals for the dwellings are:

Acquisition/Rehabilitation/Financing/Resale for Homeowners (Activity 1):
20 units for moderate-income households (≤ 80% Area Median Income — AMI)
41 units for middle-income households (≤ 120% AMI)
Timeline is January 2009 through July 2013.

Acquisition/Rehabilitation/Financing/Resale for Single- or Multi-family Housing (Rentals) (Activity 2):
50 units for low-income households (≤ to 50% AMI)
Timeline is January 2009 through July 2013

Demolition of Acquired Foreclosed Upon Homes and Redevelopment (Activity 3) (Includes demolition and redevelopment strategies)
22 units for low-, moderate-, and middle-income households (≤ to 120% AMI)
Timeline is January 2009 through July 2013

When a home is sold, the purchase price is returned to the Polk NSP coffer and used to purchase and rehab another home for sale. Lyons said that the lower-than-expected prices of the homes will enable Polk NSP to purchase, rehab, and sell more than the expected 61 homes.

The Targeted Areas

The following 10 communities are the target areas for Polk NSP. The links lead to PDF maps of the areas.

Auburndale, Combee / Eaton Park, Inwood / Jan Phyl Village, Kathleen, South Lake Wales, Poinciana, Wabash, Wahneta

The Financing

Homebuyers who meet income eligibility requirements are given considerable help by the program. First, the homes are sold at the lower of the appraised value or amount Polk NSP has put into the home (purchase price plus rehabilitation costs). Lyon mentioned they are bidding for homes that are far below the normal costs. This enables Polk NSP to sell the houses are a greatly reduced price.

Bagwell also mentioned that the program allows Polk NSP to help homeowners with funds for principle reduction. This gets the lower income buyers in with little personal up-front funds. This doesn’t mean the program is placing people in homes they can’t afford. Polk NSP will target low (<%50 of AMI) to moderate (<%80 of AMI) income households, but will use standards to place people with home payments that are affordable for their inclome level.

It also doesn't mean anyone can buy a home and flip it for more than they paid. According to Lyons, the County will maintain a second mortgage on each home to forestall that option.

In addition, Bagwell said the prospective homeowners must attend education classes that cover every aspect of home purchase and loan repayment.

The Sellers and the Vendors

In addition to helping the low-to-moderate income families, Polk NSP is geared to help area banks and contractors. Banks are able to move forclosed homes off their books, and area contractors will be given the opportunity to bid on rehabbing the Polk NSP homes.

Conclusion

Polk NSP is just beginning. Their proposal looks strong, and the goals are lofty, but achievable. Over the next few weeks, we will continue to follow Lyon, Bagwell, and the Polk NSP staff to report on the progress of the project. Longer articles on the details of the home purchase and rehab process will follow. Expect a detailed article on the numbers of Polk NSP. What income levels are needed for approval. We’ll sit in on the education program for home buyers. Like the red light camera story, we’ll see Polk NSP evolve over the next few months.

We’re starting coverage at both Lakeland Local and Metro I4 News, but expect the majority of the articles to publish at Mi4.

Mr. MacMeekin, if I’m reading correctly, says he supports a stimulus bill heavy on public works, tax cuts, and, especially, expanded unemployment benefits. Well, uh, that’s the stimulus bill you got, plus additional education and health care aid to the states, which serves the same type of purpose as expanded unemployment benefits.

Mr. MacMeekin thinks highly of the “excellent staff” of committed socialists who care for him at the James A. Haley [Socialized] VA Hospital. So do I. The socialized VA also provides marvelous care for my father-in-law and my father, a combat-wounded Vietnam vet. I am honored to help pay for that care with tax money forcibly extracted from my earnings. I just think that all of our citizens deserve access to socialized health care, not only veterans. Is socialism too good for everybody else?

And finally, of course, Mr. MacMeekin writes that I would reduce him to profanity if he were a profane man. I think we can all agree, in a general sense, that I suck as a guy. So, in that sense, I’m pleased to work as a uniter, not a divider.

However, in a few places where he doesn’t angrily agree with me, Mr. MacMeekin either misquotes, ignores, or misunderstands my argument. And I want to highlight those moments in what follows, as well as point out what I see as the true area of disagreement between us. This will be kind of long again. But that shouldn’t matter much, because, as Mr. MacMeekin writes, he was “maybe the only person on this planet” to read my “entire missile.” (I think he means “missive,” but I like “missile.” And, I’ll have you know, my mother read it all, too. She’s on my side.)

Without further adieu, here we go:

In reading this, it’s important to remember what my “Graph of Doom” post was responding to: an earlier MacMeekin piece titled “Bailouts and stimulus packages” in which he rails about how bad government spending is, and how, apparently, only Democrats are responsible for it. I set out, in part, to write a post challenging two key assertions from Mr. MacMeekin’s post.

Here’s the first:

Our current financial and economic collapse is a direct result of the social failures enacted over the last 75 years!

He even italicized that one and went on to call every bit of social spending of the last 75 years – all of it – a failure. With that in mind, it seems peculiar that he’s all for a stimulus bill that includes expanded unemployment benefits – what most people would consider social spending. It also seems peculiar that he would happily subject himself to socialized medical care. And yet he does.

Second key quote:

Massive federal programs of the Roosevelt Era were more an effort to improve conditions than they were a statistical success. Further, the current belief that WWII, and the huge dollars that went into producing a war machine, brought us out of the Depression is wrong!

In response to that, I wrote the following:

Consider this string of unemployment numbers from the U.S Commerce Department: 1929-3.1 percent; 1931-16.1 percent; 1933-25.2 percent; 1937-13.8 percent; 1938-16.5 percent; 1940-13.9 percent. You tell me, did it work? It’s always difficult to prove causation, as opposed to correlation. But clearly, New Deal policies coincided with a time that saw the unemployment rate drop from 25 percent to 13.9 percent by the eve of World War II, while the rough approach advocated by Rush-the-Plumber crowd these days concided with a time that saw it go from 3 percent to 25 percent. Those seem like statistics to me, but perhaps Mr. MacMeekin can explain how they are not.

I thought that was both pretty specific and pretty important. How did Mr. MacMeekin respond to this direct challenge to a key statement of his post? Well, he did not explain how those employment figures were not statistics. In fact, he hardly mentioned them at all. Gave the matter two just two lines, writing:

Your early comment that it was a good achievement when 1933 unemployment rates of 25.2%, were reduced to 1940’s 13.9%, is like saying the Titanic only lost 1,503 lives.

Really? Reducing the unemployment rate by 13 percentage points is like the Titanic? That’s the best he’s got? Weak. I’ll make my own silly analogy in response. Say you’re playing a football game, and you fall behind 42-0 at halftime. You decide to start throwing the ball, and you cut the lead to 42-28 by the middle of the fourth quarter. Did throwing work? Or should you go back to running the ball because you’re still down two touchdowns.

And Mr. MacMeekin completely ignored what I consider the most important point of my piece, laid out in this passage:

Mr. MacMeekin [thinks] economic conditions were better before all those socialists started trying to provide basic economic and social security, before the hyperstimulus of World War II worked its grisly, murderous magic. Really? There were eight recessions in the 27 years between 1902 and the crash of 1929. Four of them lasted longer than the longest of the 10 recessions in the 63 years since World War II ended. Eight longer recessions in 27 years is better than 10 shorter in this 63-year post war period? Really? You want to go back to the pre-Depression national economic and social structure? I do not. Most importantly, I don’t want my kids returning there.

Hear that? It’s silence. Mr. MacMeekin does a lot of grousing about Nancy Pelosi and her non-existent mouse project/Rush lieand the fact that Barack Obama is indeed a politician. But when I call out the very core of his point – that all social democracy spending over the last 75 years has failed and made our country a worse place than it was when veterans had to join the Bonus Army rather than the socialized VA – he says nothing. Nada. Zilch. Doesn’t even question my figures. Move along, nothing to see here. Libruls. Bailouts. You reduce me to profanity. Etc. Etc. So let me ask it again: Eight longer recessions in 27 years is better than 10 shorter in this 63-year post war period? Really?

He also misrepresents and then misunderstands my point concerning fiscal policy versus monetary policy, writing: “You also see interest rates as a better stimuli than tax reductions. You’re wrong. Where are interest rates now? Case closed.”

Here’s what I actually wrote:

Most, if not all, recessions in recent history resolved themselves after the Fed lowered interest rates and made money cheaper, thus spurring investment and spending. Virtually every economist I’ve read agrees that interest rate changes (known as monetary policy) have far more power to affect the economy than normal tax cuts and spending plans (known as fiscal policy). However, because of the zero percent interest rate, the Fed cannot do what it has done in every other recent recession. That leaves only fiscal policy with the capability of bridging the $2 trillion, 14 percent gap between real and potential GDP. In that gap lies misery.

Let me translate this exchange. I said, “In normal times, we would do X. But these aren’t normal times, thus we need to do Y.” In response, by way of refuting me, Mr. MacMeekin said: “But these aren’t normal times, interest rates are at zero.” Uhhh, right. I just said that. It’s like he didn’t read what I wrote.

As I said, in “normal” times, most economists I’ve read think reducing interest rates provides more bang for the buck than spending or tax cuts, partially because spending and tax cuts are political decisions and thus take longer to execute in a Democracy. And it’s indisputable that the Fed has fought all of our recent recessions – until this one – with rate cuts, which aren’t subject to the democratic process.

Now, where I think Mr. MacMeekin and I have a legitimate disagreement is over the question of the stimulative value of spending versus the stimulative value of tax cuts – in this particular economic crisis. He thinks business owners – particularly small business owners – suffer under too great a tax, fee, and regulatory burden. I’d actually add another villain, which I consider the most burdensome of all: private sector health care premiums. Our current health care system imposes a massive and unpredictable business tax that Mr. MacMeekin wants to continue to impose because he’s afraid of the socialized medicine he already enjoys. Strange. But I digress. In summary, Mr. MacMeekin thinks the business owner’s key problem right now is tax and regulatory burden. He writes: “The list is long, and burdensome. If lifted, a little, even temporarily, to the point where he/she can see the way to a profitable return to improving sales, HE HIRES!” In short, “temporary” tax and regulatory cuts make the best stimulus.

By contrast, I think the business owner’s biggest problem right now is that he has no customers. That’s because they’re all either losing jobs, or afraid they will lose their jobs in the months to come. Reducing taxes and regulation “a little” or even a lot won’t offset a massive drop in demand. So why would a business owner hire?

What’s funny is that, again, Mr. MacMeekin actually seems to agree with me on this. As he wrote earlier in this same piece:

It is truly a matter of supply and demand. Today, there is a glut of houses, cars, etc., which you have already recognized. You like to “read” graphs. Try to “read” a recent statistic: Savings. Since the initial “stimulus” payouts, and bank “bail-out,” U.S. savings rates have moved from 0% to over 3%. Why? How would you “read” this? Why didn’t consumers buy another house. Or car. Or, remodel the kitchen? What did you do with your $600?

I actually spent mine on something house-related. But I’m a bad example, and this is a good point. It’s incredibly important that the savings rate is growing. I view stimulus spending as a way to sustain our vital services and curb unemployment while we collectively do the necessary saving and longterm rebalancing of our economic structures. However, Mr. MacMeekin’s point seems to fly in the face of the idea that a business owner – faced wth cratering demand – will suddenly start hiring if government cuts his tax burden. What he needs is for people with money in hand to come into his store. That won’t happen if they lose jobs or think they might very soon. I am always open to responsibly limiting government-imposed costs on wealth-creating businesses – but for its own sake. I don’t think there’s much stimulative value to cutting taxes for businesses suffering from demand collapse. Mr. MacMeekin seems to both agree and disagree.

Ultimately though, I think Mr. MacMeekin and I agree on more than he would like to admit. We both seem skeptical of a credit/debt management-based economy. We both believe in living within your means. We both think the socialized VA provides excellent, cost-efficient health care. And we both worry about the long-term solvency concerns raised by the borrowing we’re doing from China and other places. We both seem to think government spending has a role to play in steadying the economy, though I probably think it has a larger role, and that we, as citizens, need to pay for the services from which we benefit. If he could drop the contempt, we might have some very productive discussions.

Unfortunately, he seems more interested in giving me the ideological business than working toward some sort of accord.

As he wrote at the end:

But, sir, it was one of your closing comments that identifies everything about you. I’m not a profane man, but if anyone, or anything could prompt an outburst of sheer disgust, it is the following. And I quote: “The Great Depression brought on Nazism, Fascism, Communism, nuclear weapons, and the (holocaust). What will be the (end result) of this looming Depression?”

Again, here’s what I actually wrote:

A good argument can be made that the global economic trauma of the Great Depression brought us Nazisim, Fascism, and internationally viable Communism. It can be argued that nuclear weapons and 6 million murdered Jews are just as much monuments to the Depression as the ruins of my grandfather’s childhood home. What will be the monuments of this looming depression, in a world of far more people, far more heavily armed?

Not quite the same, is it?

If you’re going to quote someone as a means of drawing rigid conclusions about their character, you probably should quote them accurately. That said, I completely stand by what I did write. History produces few facts, just suggestive guidance. And that’s what I was trying to communicate in what I wrote.

Mr. Townsend. Thank you for your comments.

For the record, I am not Rush’s puppet. But, I am (1) an elderly man who lived through the Depression, (2) a WWII and Korean veteran (active duty with the USAF), and (3) blessed to be very well cared for by the excellent staff at The James A. Haley VA Hospital in Tampa.

Additionally, my B.A., M.A., and doctoral studies were, and remain today, the study of Economics, and Finance. History and writing are my passion, as is Truth, only the truth, and nothing but. I am not a parrot for anyone, and I “call it” as I analyze it, based upon what is always a continuing education.

You admit you‘re neither an economist, nor a historian. Your response to my post proved it.

I recommend reading, “The Politically Incorrect Notebook,” which can be purchased by calling 863-289-1191. At $14.95 it will provide a broader look at many subjects of national interest.

Following are some cogent thoughts about your positions. I did read your entire missile, my friend. (Maybe the only person on this planet to do so.)

First, I have never said “No!” to public works spending. Quite the contrary. We can most certainly use road repairs, bridges, and similar projects, particularly at times like today. What I did say was public projects are not classic examples of immediate and long lasting stimuli. Do them! Yes! But, don’t rely upon them to haul the economy from its present condition.

Perhaps you failed to recognize that my main point, re: WWII, wasn’t the war itself, but the economic conditions, which developed from 1930-1946. (If it’s war that’s required, I guess Iraq failed in your expectations.) Twenty-million people were added during that 16-year period, and when all able-bodied people were finally employed, and had little to buy, they saved! With the end of hostilities, they spent! And the economy blossomed.

It is truly a matter of supply and demand. Today, there is a glut of houses, cars, etc., which you have already recognized. You like to “read” graphs. Try to “read” a recent statistic: Savings. Since the initial “stimulus” payouts, and bank “bail-out,” U.S. savings rates have moved from 0% to over 3%. Why? How would you “read” this? Why didn’t consumers buy another house. Or car. Or, remodel the kitchen? What did you do with your $600?

Do my comments mean there shouldn’t be a stimulus bill? Good Grief, Charlie Brown! No! But, “spending” and “stimulus” are not synonyms! It’s all about HOW you spend the dollars. Dollars to Philippians? Dollars to Pelosi’s mouse project? Dollars to ACORN?

Is there “pork” in the present bill? Nobody really knows how much, because we were not allowed to read all 1,100 pages. Remember Obama’s “transparency pledge?” That we would have 5-days to analyze all bills? That didn’t happen. Why? Pelosi had a plane to catch. Italy was more important to her, than Obama’s pledge of transparency.

You also see interest rates as a better stimuli than tax reductions. You’re wrong. Where are interest rates now? Case closed.

What, and who will provide employment? And why would they? Over 75% of our economy is driven by “small business.” When their sales go down, they’re required to lay off employees. That’s bad. How to help? Improve unemployment benefits. That’s incorporated in the current bill, and that’s good. But, I ask again, what’s going to jump-start the small businessman? Interest rates mean nothing to him/her if no one is buying.

Now, let’s assume that there is a significant reduction in his/her taxes. Personal income taxes. Corporate taxes. Sales taxes. Surtaxes. License fees. An overabundance of bureaucratic paperwork, requiring time, lawyers, and accountants. Rising fuel costs. Al Gore’s carbon tax. Rising unemployment compensation taxes. Rising benefit obligations. The list is long, and burdensome. If lifted, a little, even temporarily, to the point where he/she can see the way to a profitable return to improving sales, HE HIRES!

Unless you promote that all unemployed become government employees, or true wards of the state, the U.S. must seek those “carrots” that encourage and promote the rehiring of those laid off. I hope, I truly hope you understand these simple economic lessons.

You also believe that “other countries” are eager and willing to buy our Treasury bonds. WOW! Uh…where have you been lately? Secretary of State Clinton just left China, the only major buyer of our debt paper, where she was officially told, and I quote, “We hate you! We don’t want your paper. We hate you, and can’t do anything about it!” This, from the country that already owns over $2 trillion of our paper! That’s a “T,” not a “B.”

Your early comment that it was a good achievement when 1933 unemployment rates of 25.2%, were reduced to 1940’s 13.9%, is like saying the Titanic only lost 1,503 lives.

But, sir, it was one of your closing comments that identifies everything about you. I’m not a profane man, but if anyone, or anything could prompt an outburst of sheer disgust, it is the following. And I quote:

“The Great Depression brought on Nazism, Fascism, Communism, nuclear weapons, and the (holocaust). What will be the (end result) of this looming Depression?”

History tells of the social failures throughout the world’s nations. History tells of the failures of our own social programs. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Entitlements, Foreign Aid, Education, is there any social program, which can be declared a success?

The Great Depression can be measured as that time between 1929-1946. Almost two decades. Massive federal programs of the Roosevelt Era were more an effort to improve conditions than they were a statistical success. Further, the current belief that WWII, and the huge dollars that went into producing a war machine, brought us out of the Depression is wrong!

With the surrender of the Japanese in August of 1945, America found itself with 20,000,000 more people than existed in 1930, and no housing, no automobiles, no appliances, none of Life’s demands required by a population, now totaling 135 million men, women and children, eager to buy, with money saved, that which had been unavailable for almost 20 years!

As President Truman released 10,000,000 uniformed men and women into civilian life they found waiting employers looking to produce what the market demanded.

The difference between then and now is apparent to those that look, and see what they’re looking at. During the war years money was accumulated, saved, because there was so very little to buy. The economy was “stimulated” by the market’s demands for a wide range of goods and services long unavailable. Times were good. Very, very good.

Today we have a glut – a massive oversupply of houses, autos, computers, appliances, most everything.

Why the glut of goods? The culprit(s) are easy to identify, although the (minor) media and Socialists (aka Democrats) will deny the allegation. It begins with Congress. President Carter initiated the movement to provide housing for those who did not meet current loan standards, and Congress demanded that lending organizations – banks – drop interest rates, and lower the threshold for qualification. These two areas, Housing and Banks, spanning from coast-to-coast, reaching from Canada to Mexico, are the principal culprits in today’s malaise, first spawned by a flawed effort to meet, with private resources, the living standards of those less fortunate, and second, a frenzy of construction driven by rapidly rising land and housing values, each promising riches for all time. For several years the banks and developers have enjoyed the ride. Now, not so much.

At this critical juncture in our economy we are burdened with a Congress unable to understand how the market place works in the real world we call America. There is a
significant oversupply of homes. New homes, foreclosed homes, older homes, vacation homes, homes built on speculation, and entire developments in various stages of limbo.

Similarly, there is an oversupply of vehicles. An oversupply, which literally threatens the continued existence of a true American industry. It’s more than just an oversupply, of course. Contractual obligations, foreign competition, governmental requirements, and market demands for certain types and makes of vehicles, are each crushing down, dictating bankruptcy/reorganization.

Bail-outs? Stimulus packages? Putting money into the hands of lending institutions and individuals who are inundated with goods and services not demanded by the market place? No!

You agree? Want more thoughts on this, and a variety of other subjects important to our lives? My recently released The Politically Incorrect Notebook covers 25 different and contentious matters, and is available by calling Three Rivers Books at 1-863-289-1191. (It’s also available through amazon.com, but at a much higher price!)

photo credit: lakewentworth

Full size map: December 2008 Winter Haven Homes Sold

An extra special bonus is the write-up from Kevin Sandridge, FloridaMortgageBlogger.com

Hi folks! A bit late on this one, but thought you’d appreciate some insight into the Winter Haven, Florida housing market.

As always, I would like to extend a special thanks to *Lakeland, Florida Realtor Petra Norris*, who issues a comparable report for the *Lakeland, Florida* area. What’s even cooler is that *I-4 Metro’s Own Journalist Extraordinaire * and all ’round good “Human” *Mr. Chuck Welch * has kindly mapped out the homes sold via his interactive Community Walk map.

Hi folks! A bit late on this one, but thought you’d appreciate some insight into the Winter Haven, Florida housing market.

As always, I would like to extend a special thanks to Lakeland, Florida Realtor Petra Norris, who issues a comparable report for the Lakeland, Florida area. What’s even cooler is that I-4 Metro’s Own Journalist Extraordinaire and all ’round good “Human” Mr. Chuck Welch has kindly mapped out the homes sold via his interactive Community Walk map.
A few of the finer points about this Winter Haven, Florida Homes Sold Report

* By “homes sold” I am referring to single family homes and condominiums. Homes sold as “by owner” do not appear here.
* The geographic area covered in this report consists of the Winter Haven, Florida area.
* Rather than use school zones, I’ve used Zip codes – which I feel provides a clearer picture of what’s presented here.
* The Zip codes included in this edition of my report include: 33880, 33881, and 33884.

Winter Haven, Florida Home Sales Data – December 2008

Home sales in Winter Haven for December 2008 rose 5.36% from the November 2008 totals – up from 56 to 59. The average sales price was $126,543, and of the homes sold, 1 was a Townhouse, 50 were single family homes, 3 were classified as manufactured/mobile homes, and the remaining 5 were condos.

The average sold price per square foot dropped 3.9% down from $73.11 in November to $70.26 for December, and the average List Price to Sales Price Ratio dropped from 97.19 % to 92.13%. What this means is that on average, sellers reduced their initial asking price by just over 8 %.

Note: The information contained in this report was obtained from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS. The data presented here is believed reliable but is not guaranteed.

My Take on All of This:

While Winter Haven, Florida home sales activity increased by a slight 5.36%, but sellers are having to give in to market pressure a little more by lowering their asking prices to more reasonable levels – averaging more than an 8% price reduction per home sold.

Condo prices continue to see downward pressure over single family homes, except for those with exceptional qualities, like the one sold in the Winterset Community, which boasts one of the best views of Lake Winterset – one of the largest and most beautiful lakes on the Winter Haven’s Chain-of-Lakes.

Homeowners Find Big Problem in ‘Solutions’ and Neighbors Kick Family Out Of Home both address pitfalls faced by home owners looking to stay afloat.

On the tax front, counties are forced to raise property taxes the state cut. Brace yourself for a property-tax hike in Orlando area and Hillsborough County’s Tax Revenue Takes Hit.