Riots in the streets 2008-2013 style.

[piglett]

Precisely, when he was elected in 2008, it was on a wave of Hope and Change plus anti-Bush sentiment along with his best in class oratory skills, he did not have much if any record to speak to.


Now, he will have to run on what he has done, which among many things is pass an unpopular $700 Billion Stimulus package when he took office, pass a controversial health care bill, run record trillion $ deficits on his watch, no significant improvement in unemployment, he is winding down the wars in the middle east though, which I think will play well for him.


I do not think he is a shoe in to be re-elected, if the economy continues to improve marginally as it has done during this recovery with not much downward movement in unemployment and not many new jobs being created, with the housing market still faltering and house prices still moving down in some areas, he is going to have a tough time being re-elected. However, if the economy starts picking up some steam, adding 200 to 300 thousand jobs per month consistently, we finally reach a bottom in the real estate market, they reach a compromise on the budget, implement tax and spending reforms, that would be a more favorable back-drop for him to win.


It seems the American electorate is fickle and has a what have you done for me lately outlook. To early to call, should be a good watch. I am looking forward to hearing Obama on the stump, he is smooth talker so I want to see how he positions his campaign.

do you really think things will turn around with the economy in 1 year , i wouldn't make any bets on that one.

but yes he is a smooth talker but that will only get you so far.
 
even the sheeple that i work with are openly talking bad about him & they are normally much more interested in talking about "throwing the ball around" 
 
pig

[michaelb]

Poor as Obama's record is, the Republicans should be able to run a goat against him and win. Problem is that it has to at least be a qualified goat and so far they haven't been able to find one. Sometimes I think they actually go around thinking "OK, who is the weakest candidate we can run?".

[Colgando]

do you really think things will turn around with the economy in 1 year , i wouldn't make any bets on that one.

but yes he is a smooth talker but that will only get you so far.
 
even the sheeple that i work with are openly talking bad about him & they are normally much more interested in talking about "throwing the ball around" 
 
pig

It has and will turn around for certain people, the upper middle class and the upper class, those who have the means to invest and take advantage of the broader global economy through equity markets and direct investments, those who's businesses are exposed to the emerging markets, those economies are cooking right now, driving the broader global recovery.


For middle class america, the largest section of the American electorate, I have an unfavorable outlook personally, we are not competitive on a global basis in this section of our society and I do not think we are prepared to adjust our lifestyles and expectations downward to become competitive again in the global economy right now. Housing prices probably won't bottom until next spring/summer 2012, so that will continue to be negative for the housing construction industry and its suppliers, the main industry that blew up this past recession, lost the majority of the jobs and equity.


But, one never knows though, it is all forecasting and of course you have bulls and bears, so time will tell what this economy does. It would be prudent to take advantage of the expansion taking place with the broader global economy, Asia, Latin America etc., Africa is a frontier economy that will follow the emerging markets at some point most likely.

[robert angel]

I think that for vast majority of us who don't have ownership stakes in the USA companies that make most of their profits overseas, that it will be years before most of us begin to creep back up in income.
Even then, there may still be millions, especially those w/o specific skills, college degrees or those past their mid 50s, who are left 'disenfranchised'.

People who worked 20, 25, 30 years and worked their way up the pay scale, are being laid off left and right and can't get jobs, or at least jobs that pay any where near what they and their families were used to. Pension plans are being cut and private retirement accounts (if you had either) typically show little promise of appreciation.

Furthermore, homes, once the bedrock of their finanicial stability for many people and their familes, have now instead often  become anchors on a sinking boat for them.

All this continues as we continue the smoke and mirrors that we call economic policies, printing more and more money (quantitive easing, anyone?) as any signs of recovery are basically a 'jobless recovery'.
 Of course, our govt., the mass media and those who choose to believe them, pretend otherwise--that no, Chicken Little--the "sky is not falling". (just the dollar worldwide--but that's actually good for business and the USA, they feel).

I think we have yet to see where and at what standard of living millions of us will have to settle for after what the then Fed. Chairman Greenspan belatedly called our economic 'irrational exuberance' was acknowledged and the house of cards our economy had become blew away.

I haven't seen my salary go up in at least five years, while my costs for almost everything else have gone up. If it were not for the occasional extra jobs they throw me, I'd probably be in a bad way, and there's no promise they'll keep those jobs coming, so I do worry a bit, while thanking my lucky stars that we're not a whole lot worse off. My brother is down is Florida's 'space belt' and with the space shuttle program being taken off line, the economy there is really rough compared to my area.

What's even worse for us is how our dream of packing up and moving overseas six to eight years from now doesn't seem so rosey or realistic now, as our American dollars aren't worth nearly what they once were and our standard of living overseas would be less comfortable than we hoped for.
Yes, I think that along with a whole lot of other people in the USA, we're going to have to learn to 'make do' with less and less for quite a while.
 
No, the way the economy looks and the way they're allegedly trying to put it back together doesn't seem to bode well for the middle class in the short or long term, in my opinion. The folks on the public dole and used to it, as well as those at the top of the economic pyramid seem like the ones who'll stay comfortable for the long term.

[utopiacowboy]

Poor as Obama's record is, the Republicans should be able to run a goat against him and win. Problem is that it has to at least be a qualified goat and so far they haven't been able to find one. Sometimes I think they actually go around thinking "OK, who is the weakest candidate we can run?".

The Republicans are not interested in winning. Consequently I expect the worst president in US history to easily get re-elected. But then no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public - they're morons and they deserve the screwing they're getting.

[Colgando]

The Republicans are not interested in winning. Consequently I expect the worst president in US history to easily get re-elected. But then no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public - they're morons and they deserve the screwing they're getting.

It will be interesting to see if the tea-party wing, the most vocal, loud and active part of the GOP, will get behind a centrist candidate. For the life of me, I can't understand why they just don't move a few steps to the center. Its almost as if their idealism gets in the way of realism. Don't forget the major gains the GOP made in both chambers of Congress in 2010, the sentiment and momentum is still there for the pendulum to swing back, the GOP has to nominate a good candidate. I do not know who that person is.


I do think Independents are the most reasonable, pragmatic section of the electorate and their swing votes elect the president. Independents are currently breaking away from Obama significantly. Will the GOP nominate a candidate that the independents will receive?


All the factors that enabled Obama to be elected are no longer that potent, anti-Bush sentiment has turned to anti-Obama sentiment, hope and change has arrived, people can make a judgement about if they like the change or not, and his smooth talking will be trumped by a faltering economy. I think he is a much weaker candidate this time around, the GOP has to nominate someone that can knock Obama out, out campaign and debate him.

[Colgando]

I think that for vast majority of us who don't have ownership stakes in the USA companies that make most of their profits overseas, that it will be years before most of us begin to creep back up in income.
Even then, there may still be millions, especially those w/o specific skills, college degrees or those past their mid 50s, who are left 'disenfranchised'.

People who worked 20, 25, 30 years and worked their way up the pay scale, are being laid off left and right and can't get jobs, or at least jobs that pay any where near what they and their families were used to. Pension plans are being cut and private retirement accounts (if you had either) typically show little promise of appreciation.

Furthermore, homes, once the bedrock of their finanicial stability for many people and their familes, have now instead often  become anchors on a sinking boat for them.

All this continues as we continue the smoke and mirrors that we call economic policies, printing more and more money (quantitive easing, anyone?) as any signs of recovery are basically a 'jobless recovery'.
 Of course, our govt., the mass media and those who choose to believe them, pretend otherwise--that no, Chicken Little--the "sky is not falling". (just the dollar worldwide--but that's actually good for business and the USA, they feel).

I think we have yet to see where and at what standard of living millions of us will have to settle for after what the then Fed. Chairman Greenspan belatedly called our economic 'irrational exuberance' was acknowledged and the house of cards our economy had become blew away.

I haven't seen my salary go up in at least five years, while my costs for almost everything else have gone up. If it were not for the occasional extra jobs they throw me, I'd probably be in a bad way, and there's no promise they'll keep those jobs coming, so I do worry a bit, while thanking my lucky stars that we're not a whole lot worse off. My brother is down is Florida's 'space belt' and with the space shuttle program being taken off line, the economy there is really rough compared to my area.

What's even worse for us is how our dream of packing up and moving overseas six to eight years from now doesn't seem so rosey or realistic now, as our American dollars aren't worth nearly what they once were and our standard of living overseas would be less comfortable than we hoped for.
Yes, I think that along with a whole lot of other people in the USA, we're going to have to learn to 'make do' with less and less for quite a while.
 
No, the way the economy looks and the way they're allegedly trying to put it back together doesn't seem to bode well for the middle class in the short or long term, in my opinion. The folks on the public dole and used to it, as well as those at the top of the economic pyramid seem like the ones who'll stay comfortable for the long term.

Nice post to bring it down to real life. I agree with your opinion that us middle class americans are in for a tough stretch. Fortunately for me, my career is currently aligned with wealthy people, so I have a fighting chance. There will always be wealthy people in the US buying goods and services.

[fathertime]

  Good God FT! Ron Paul is a freaking idiot!
　
When almost every last American (except for a few assorted commies) was celebrating the death of that stinking asswipe Bin Laden and dancing in the streets over his stinking corpse, what did Ron Paul do?
　
The dumbass said he wouldn’t have ordered the hit but would have worked with the Pakistanis to arrest Osama and bring him to trial(?) WTF was that idiot thinking?
　
Ron Paul just lost about 90 million votes with that stupid statement. I think he would be an absolute disaster in foreign policy matters!
　
I like Cain too, even though he hasn’t got a snowball’s chance in hell…
　
Ray
　

i might disagree with Ron Paul on how he would have handled Osamabinladen but generally speaking I like his stance on most issue. 


I don't know how the hell this govt. has encroached on so damn much...this country has become a nannystate and Ron Paul would do his best to undo a lot of that.

Fathertime!

[Alabamaboy!]

It has and will turn around for certain people, the upper middle class and the upper class, those who have the means to invest and take advantage of the broader global economy through equity markets and direct investments, those who's businesses are exposed to the emerging markets, those economies are cooking right now, driving the broader global recovery.


For middle class america, the largest section of the American electorate, I have an unfavorable outlook personally, we are not competitive on a global basis in this section of our society and I do not think we are prepared to adjust our lifestyles and expectations downward to become competitive again in the global economy right now. Housing prices probably won't bottom until next spring/summer 2012, so that will continue to be negative for the housing construction industry and its suppliers, the main industry that blew up this past recession, lost the majority of the jobs and equity.


But, one never knows though, it is all forecasting and of course you have bulls and bears, so time will tell what this economy does. It would be prudent to take advantage of the expansion taking place with the broader global economy, Asia, Latin America etc., Africa is a frontier economy that will follow the emerging markets at some point most likely.

I was thinking like you are regarding the emerging markets, but it seems like at least in the way of South America they are still not there yet. There is not enough middle class to purchase their goods and services. So they still must depend a lot on the US consumer to keep them afloat. I believe most SA stock markets are down significantly this year, because the US malaise is catching up with them. Last week there were reports that Asian emerging markets are significantly cooling off too. So there may very well be no good place to hide as this Titantic goes down. That is why a lot of big US corps are hoarding money. There is no where to put it.

[robert angel]

The republicans have done such a dismal job of putting out candidates, that the tea party might have more of a chance than people realize. They just need a dynamic candidate, with a lot of charisma, the big hair, capped teeth and all that schlock the American people typically embrace. Someone who can whip up the nationalistic fervor like hitler did, with the charm and cachet of .j.f. kennedy. It would help if he was a lot like a game show host too.   That's what the masses really want--'a reason to believe'

[Colgando]

I was thinking like you are regarding the emerging markets, but it seems like at least in the way of South America they are still not there yet. There is not enough middle class to purchase their goods and services. So they still must depend a lot on the US consumer to keep them afloat. I believe most SA stock markets are down significantly this year, because the US malaise is catching up with them. Last week there were reports that Asian emerging markets are significantly cooling off too. So there may very well be no good place to hide as this Titantic goes down. That is why a lot of big US corps are hoarding money. There is no where to put it.

Yep, still a traders market. Check out the World Bank stats on the global re-balancing, it is very compelling the population growth rates and the resources the emerging and frontier markets will consume over the long-term. I do not participate in day trading, I am a long-term strategic and tactical investor. Lots of unfavorable reports recently, lots of profit taking going on, lots of bears feeling justified, lots of people rattled that the global expansion is faltering, lots of crazy things going on, Europe is a mess, the US consumer is a mess, oil prices are high, the Middle East is flaring up, just read a report Iran is 2 months away from having enough enriched uranium to make a bomb, hope that is not true, that would be terrible for the global economy, Iran is the 2nd largest OPEC oil producer and they could cause major problems.


The emerging markets have driven the expansion so far so it is not too alarming they are cooling off a bit to a more sustainable growth rate. US domestics and multi-nationals still dominate recommended equity asset allocation strategies with emerging market equities still a small percentage of portfolios. Tactically speaking, these pullbacks in the markets may be good entry points for investors to reallocate assets into equities and put cash in play within their investment objectives, many investors are choosing to take profits, money moving back into treasuries, driving yields down, crazy market right now, I am glad I am not a day trader, I would lose my shirt probably. Yep, do have to play the emerging markets smart and enter into them prudently on a country by country basis. Yep, the US consumer is hurting, no money to spend, the India and China consumer are quickly building up demand for goods and services, will take some time, but the US consumer is spent for the time being it appears, latin america shows some promising signs, there are ways to play that market and make money. As long as people are still alive, kicking, eating, drinking, living, consuming, products are still being made and consumed, there will be money to be made, just a matter of who the winners and losers are I think.

[robert angel]

Re:
 
>>there will be money to be made, just a matter of who the winners and losers are I think.<,
 
Always. If you have enough money set aside accordingly, there's always a way to bet and win, regardless of the economy. After the crash of 2008, when the stock market was way low, who do you think was picking up the scraps? Even 'down in the dumps'-- not so risky stocks, like G.E. and Alcoa, made some rich people richer, to name but two.

[piglett]

my understanding is 25% of the home loans in the US are either behind on their payments or at some stage of repossession & that can now take 2 or 3 years. also another 25% of US homeowners are underwater. 
 
so how long will it take for all of that sh*t to rite itself?
5 years , 10 years "hard sayin not knowin"
 
also i understand that there are alot of commercial loans
you know the kind you get when you want to build or buy a strip mall, these people are way behind on their payments because there are soooo many empty units
 
so that is another bubble that mite just burst
 
IMHO the US economy is like a guy that gets rushed in to the emergency room. he has a broken leg the fluu, a cold a few cracked ribs & internal bleeding in multiple parts of his body.
 
so the people at the ER(the government bureaucrats) set his broken leg & send him on his way 
 
man he has a sh*t load of other problems & any one of them could land him back into the hospital any day soon.
when will these boneheads figure out that the paitent needed a serious opperation for there to be any chance of a long term recovery. these people running the country are suposose to be smart .....rite ?? hell many have letters after their name correct? so if me , a regular joe can figure that sh*t out they in the hell can't they
 
please explain it to me 
 
pig

[Researcher]

      Hey Piglett, yeah these politicians are educated and know what is going on but our government is ran by big money.Most of these folks are on the take and don't care where this nation ends up.They are bought off to do the bidding of big corporations and Wall Street tycoons and to try to distract the public from noticing.Between scandals, stirring up irrevelant issues and telling everyone that everything will be alright I'd say they are doing a good job at it. Obama is a master at this BS. He got elected without practically any experience. Hell he didn't even have a platform other than claiming he wasn't Bush.He only had vague slogans that people ate up. Many say he won't get re-elected but I can't see any other candidate with the BS that people will buy, which it seems is all it takes to get elected.


      Researcher

[Colgando]

my understanding is 25% of the home loans in the US are either behind on their payments or at some stage of repossession & that can now take 2 or 3 years. also another 25% of US homeowners are underwater. 
 
so how long will it take for all of that sh*t to rite itself?
5 years , 10 years "hard sayin not knowin"
 
also i understand that there are alot of commercial loans
you know the kind you get when you want to build or buy a strip mall, these people are way behind on their payments because there are soooo many empty units
 
so that is another bubble that mite just burst
 
IMHO the US economy is like a guy that gets rushed in to the emergency room. he has a broken leg the fluu, a cold a few cracked ribs & internal bleeding in multiple parts of his body.
 
so the people at the ER(the government bureaucrats) set his broken leg & send him on his way 
 
man he has a sh*t load of other problems & any one of them could land him back into the hospital any day soon.
when will these boneheads figure out that the paitent needed a serious opperation for there to be any chance of a long term recovery. these people running the country are suposose to be smart .....rite ?? hell many have letters after their name correct? so if me , a regular joe can figure that sh*t out they in the hell can't they
 
please explain it to me 
 
pig

Yes sir, the housing market is miserable on a national basis. California, Florida, Nevada to name a few are in bad shape. North Carolina for example is doing ok, they did not have the run up in prices, not many non-owner occupied properties in that market, so it is ok. Yep, those commercial loans are in bad shape too.


Good news is the US still accounts for 25% of the Global GDP if I remember right, and we are still the largest economy by far, and the greenback is still the world reserve currency for now, we still dominate the intellectual capital space along with other countries really advancing, it would be nice to see China hit a soft landing at 8 to 9% GDP growth, the US will do well to get 2.5 to 3% GDP growth this year. 


IMO, this is a hard structural problem to fix in the US, the US is way too expensive with our lifestyles and our government, the government needs a complete restructuring, not sure what that would look like, and the US consumer needs restructuring, which is happening as the US citizen de-leverages and starts saving more. It seems our 70% consumer driven economy is bitting us in the a$$ right now, it would be great to see us improve our manufacturing sectors. It seems very difficult with so many special interests working, the politicians are not much help right now. Yeah, it is a mixed bag I think.

[robert angel]

Sign of the times:
"Is Las Vegas the new Detroit?"
The below is interesting, as well as is the fact that  Macau, China only matched Las Vegas in gambling revenue five years ago, but now earns four times as much yearly and is growing faster, with outfits like Wynn and The Sands making the lion's share of their revenues in Asia.
 
 >>The median home-sale price in the Las Vegas area at the 2006 peak was $313,500; in 2010, that fell to a stunning $138,100, according to the National Association of Realtors.
           
Currently more than 70% of the homes in the area are "underwater," meaning their value is worth less than the amount owed on the mortgage, according to Stephen Miller, the chairman of the economics department at the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Nationwide, it's more than 28%.
A recent Forbes survey named Las Vegas the nation's second-worst-performing housing market of the past decade.
The worst? Detroit

[Researcher]

   It's grumbling in the streets 2011 style!

  CNN has a story out that says 48% of Americans believe we will be in another Great Depression within a year:

      http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/08/what-are-the-chances-the-u-s-economy-could-eventually-trigger-violence-in-our-country/

        It further goes on to say that many believe the economic situation could trigger violence in this country......Here we go with riots in the streets.

        James Carville is agreeing with FT when it comes to civil unrest! What's scary is that this is a CNN story and as pro Obama as they are things must be really bad for them to run a story like that.

         Researcher

[robert angel]

I don't think we're in a 'will be' scenario--I think we actually are in another "Great Depression"already, but that we're in a state of denial. We listen to the sound bites the media dishes out, as they kow tow to the govt's predictable press releases.

What's worse, is I can't see anything like another "New Deal" coming to help rescue us. The sort of tactics that the New Deal used are to an extent what got us in this mess and in a way, are being used in a larger 'social welfare' way, to prop up corporate monoliths and the economy as a whole.

Economic principals, such as 'Laissez--faire' have been largely abandoned, and while some might say that policies such as NAFTA prove otherwise, the govt. and a few major components of the USA's economy have wielded undue influence that has restricted free market forces.

We have an economy based more on predictions than reality, on futures more than actual product on a shelf, lot or in a warehouse. Our accounting systems' already with a long history of making it easy to 'cook the books' have not kept up well with advances in technology. We've created too many paper tigers.

What's even sadder to say is is indicate that it won't get worse--it certainly can and very may will do so, especially in real estate markets.

[Colgando]

I don't think we're in a 'will be' scenario--I think we actually are in another "Great Depression"already, but that we're in a state of denial. We listen to the sound bites the media dishes out, as they kow tow to the govt's predictable press releases.

What's worse, is I can't see anything like another "New Deal" coming to help rescue us. The sort of tactics that the New Deal used are to an extent what got us in this mess and in a way, are being used in a larger 'social welfare' way, to prop up corporate monoliths and the economy as a whole.

Economic principals, such as 'Laissez--faire' have been largely abandoned, and while some might say that policies such as NAFTA prove otherwise, the govt. and a few major components of the USA's economy have wielded undue influence that has restricted free market forces.

We have an economy based more on predictions than reality, on futures more than actual product on a shelf, lot or in a warehouse. Our accounting systems' already with a long history of making it easy to 'cook the books' have not kept up well with advances in technology. We've created too many paper tigers.

What's even sadder to say is is indicate that it won't get worse--it certainly can and very may will do so, especially in real estate markets.

I think you made a good argument with the exception of we are in another great depression. We are far from that based on any objective measure. The Fed Reserve flooded the system with unprecedented liquidity on the order of close to $3 trillion in cash, printed money mostly, if I have the stat right, the Fed's balance sheet is something on the order of $2.7 trillion right now. Now we may face an inflation problem and debasing of the greenback in the future. To equate where we are now to the great depression does a disservice to the awful period that was...The Great Depression, IMO. Personally, I like...The Great Recession to describe where we are.

[robert angel]

Re:
<<The Fed Reserve flooded the system with unprecedented liquidity on the order of close to $3 trillion in cash, printed money mostly<<
 
Colgando, that's not the solution, it's part of the problem and it's going to catch up with us unless we cut back on printing money like it's toilet paper. The sorry state of the US dollar and concerns about the US economy as a whole have probably been expressed to you in your travels overseas and not by just educated and upper class people.

[Colgando]

Re:
<<The Fed Reserve flooded the system with unprecedented liquidity on the order of close to $3 trillion in cash, printed money mostly<<
 
Colgando, that's not the solution, it's part of the problem and it's going to catch up with us unless we cut back on printing money like it's toilet paper. The sorry state of the US dollar and concerns about the US economy as a whole have probably been expressed to you in your travels overseas and not by just educated and upper class people.

Good point, I mentioned that to say that during the great depression, the monetary authorities did not provide liquidity to the economy which exacerbated the problem back then. This time around, the Fed Reserve provided liquidity to prevent another great depression. If the liquidity was not there this time around, we very well may have ended up in another great depression.


Yes sir, it will be interesting to see how the Fed Reserve reduces their balance sheet and when, Europe is already tightening their money supply. The US monetary authorities are not overly concerned with inflation right now, but they will be at some point in the future, too much printed money on the street. I do think it was necessary for them to provide liquidity given the monetary system we have, all the big banks were bankrupt, the US consumer was effectively bankrupt, so it was the only option. Steve Forbes suggested and predicted that we peg the greenback to gold again, as it stands now, the Fed Reserve can just print money as they please, being pegged to gold may very well have prevented all these bubbles derived in part from easy money.

[fathertime]

I think you made a good argument with the exception of we are in another great depression. We are far from that based on any objective measure. 

Last week we officially have surpassed the housing drop of the great depression, I could provide a dozen links but here is a very credible one from marketwatch.  Does that qualify as 'any objective measure'.  We also still in a free-fall in housing, when we are done the great depression will seem mild in regards to the drop in housing prices, in my opinion.  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-housing-is-in-a-depression-2011-06-01?siteid=rss







Fathertime!

[fathertime]

Good point, I mentioned that to say that during the great depression, the monetary authorities did not provide liquidity to the economy which exacerbated the problem back then. This time around, the Fed Reserve provided liquidity to prevent another great depression. If the liquidity was not there this time around, we very well may have ended up in another great depression.


 

I have to agree that obozo has prevented a lot of suffering by injecting all the printed money and borrowing 40Cents for every dollar spent by our govt.  If not for our broke unemployment insurance and the 45million people using food stamps we would have a better visual of the severity of the financial situation.  Food stamps and unemployment ins. were not available during the great depression.  All in all, there is not nearly the suffering now as there was then, but that is not to say that the suffering is coming up soon.   When it all finally shakes out, I won't be too surprised to see some rioting/lawlessness.  Right now the middle class is feeling really pissed off, but members of the middle class don't riot nowadays, when the suffering extends down to the lower classes, then I think we will see some rioting.  I don't want obozo to win in 2012, but if we get a fiscally responsible republican/tea partier, that starts cutting entitlements drastically then their will be blood in the streets!  I'm very interested in seeing how this ends, just so long as my family doesn't get caught in the crossfire.   


Fathertime!

[fathertime]

Sign of the times:
 
 
 >>The median home-sale price in the Las Vegas area at the 2006 peak was $313,500; in 2010, that fell to a stunning $138,100, according to the National Association of Realtors.
           
Currently more than 70% of the homes in the area are "underwater," meaning their value is worth less than the amount owed on the mortgage, according to Stephen Miller, the chairman of the economics department at the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Nationwide, it's more than 28%.
 

Hello RobertAngel, 
I am not at all surprised by what happened in Vegas.  When my childhood buddy told me was buying a house there in 2006 and spending an additional 90K on 'landscaping', I told him it was going to be a bad mistake and the market was going to implode.  Well he did it anyway and was in his house for about 350k...he can now get perhaps 180k for the house...Alas, I don't play "I TOLD YOU SO" with him, we both know what happened, but to me it was all so damn obvious what was about to happen.  I just don't understand how the Christ people thought that housing was never going to correct dramatically.  To this day, prices still don't make sense relative to income in many areas.


BTW: the rest of the vegas economy is also in the pits, there are half completed construction projects speckled all over vegas, just rusting in the wind...what a huge waste of resources...btw if anybody is in vegas next week....look for me, i'll be there!


Fathertime! 

[Researcher]

      I did see a story today on CNBC about how we have been spending 100 billion dollars a year to support the military effort in Afghanistan and giving them nearly 19 billion dolllars a year to help their economy. It was refreshing to see how they reported that the Afghan people are spitting in our faces as we shower them with all this money.Many are starting to call for an end to this effort in Iraq and Afghanistan because of the cost.Could it be that folks are starting to come to their senses?

     Too much expensive PR campaigns instead of real wars is a big part of what has bankrupted us.Lesson learned?...nation building doesn't work. A coworker of mine spent a year in Iraq.He said we basically bring in cash by the pallet load that gets grabbed up by corrupt people there.

      This nonsense needs to be cut out before Social Security or Medicare is even discussed.Maybe when our government is done debating Weiner's wiener they will get down to the business at hand....oh who am I kidding... they will just get back to business as usual!

          Researcher