Tent cities have sprung up outside Los Angeles

Banks are the ones who have taken people and had them achieve that all
Amerian dream of owning their own home and now they're pulling the rug from under them.

You know, it kind of makes me mad when i hear insensitive talk about this subject or any other because if it werent for the grace of God, it could be you or I in that situation.

The American dream is to come up with enough down payment and get through the haze of credit checks to be able to own that house. Some here say they are buying expensive homes? Is there any other kind?
The average home in Massachusetts goes for at least 200,000 now, and thats a small modest house. Gone are the days of the 32,000 dollar home
WTF. You cant blame people for trying to better their lives even if all the money they earn goes towards the mortgag. Its a huge sacrifice!

But getting back to the nitty gritty, the government wants us to live in Tent City, USA, and being at their mercy.
They want us dependent on THEM. The more we have to depend on THEM the more we abide by their rules, eh?

reply to post by dgtempe


Very well put DG ... even making the money I do at the young age I am.. I cannot buy a house..

And if no one bought a house unless it was "in their means" .. not many would be living in houses. Might as well erect some state housing tenements.. if the average wage in my area is 27-35k a year, and the average house is 150-200k ... well uh .. the average person cannot buy a house.

The housing bubble as a whole is a fraud.

That's just it, Roc. This generation and others to come will not have the experience of owning their own home. Unless something happens to straighten things out, i feel very sorry for you and for my kids, who will probably not be able to buy a home.
And the rental prices are through the roof, too! They make it impossible for anyone to live.
Part of the reason i have been so distraught lately is that my youngest son is having to move to Florida, they found a fairly cheap home to buy there.
I am happy for them but very very sad at the same time. My son feels like a loser because he cant buy a home here. So off they go!
Anyway, i still hold out a ray of hope sometimes that things will straighten out. Sometimes i dont.

reply to post by anxietydisorder


So they are faced with the option of homelessness or a bad contract. When they end up homeless anyway, you point and laugh and say "serves you right".

It must be really nice being a white guy with money, huh?

Edit to add: That, plus a combination of economic downturn resulting in less pay and loss of jobs, and mortgage rates rising - which is the bank decision, not that of the consumer. Yes, these people definitely deserve to be put out on the street for the bad investments of the banks.

[edit on 14-3-2008 by TheWalkingFox]

reply to post by dgtempe


I'm afraid that's a bit too alarmist. I'm schooling part time and making $10/hr. part time and I rent my own place and am not too far off from being able to buy a modest-sized house.

reply to post by chromatico

Well, i'm very happy for you, sincerely. Grab that house before its too late and God bless you.

Originally posted by chromatico
reply to post by jitombe

 

I'm sorry, I forgot that poor people were knuckle-dragging morons who couldn't figure anything out for themselves.

It's not just the poor. I'm sure if you looked at the demographics you'd find just as many people who had good incomes, but bad judgement amongst the tent dwellers. The banks and mortgage companies have screwed everyone, and the taxpayers get the privilege of bailing them out yet again.

reply to post by rcwj75


I have seen it where owning a home is actually cheaper than renting. Prices of rent has increased. I'm not surprised to see these people living in tents. They probably can't find affordable housing anywhere.

The problem is that the circumstances have to be taken into consideration. If the person or family is buying other things before paying mortgage, then yes you can be somewhat harsh on them for not making and keeping with priorities with the mortgage being the top priority above everything else except tithe and food.

If the person/family lost their job due to no fault of their own, then please have some compassion. The one lady lost her husband and wasn't able to keep up the payments by herself.

Lets just hope the PD doesnt pull the same events they pulled here in Tampa with the Tent city ordeal.
The police came in with box cutters, and knifes. They chopped down everyones tent, and threw them in the garbage. And said thats where those people belong, in the trash with their tents.

This sparked outrage umoung many people in my area. We bought them new tents, and provided canned food for many of these folks who found themselfs homeless.
Later they where kicked out of Tamp and have moved over to LA it seems. I hope they are treated better over that way. But Im sure more boxcutter cops will come threw and clean these folks out too.

Originally posted by chromatico
I'm afraid that's a bit too alarmist. I'm schooling part time and making $10/hr. part time and I rent my own place and am not too far off from being able to buy a modest-sized house.

Well, make sure it is not a home that is "artificially and unsustainably high due to an irrationally exuberant market." I don't want to sound rude, but what price of a home do you think you can afford making $250-$400/week working part time? Are there any homes priced that low, or do they all have artificial values?

[edit on 3-14-2008 by nyarlathotep]

reply to post by nyarlathotep


I'm just saying, once my school gets done, I should have a shot. Not everywhere's Miami, you know.

Originally posted by chromatico
I'm just saying, once my school gets done, I should have a shot. Not everywhere's Miami, you know.

Miami, who said anything about Miami? I believe the median home price in the US is around $220k. You were the one who said the homes were artificially high.

Sorry but good money management and work ethic is what gets you into the position to own a home, not the first loan you can get your hands on. Owning a home is a responsibility, and takes planning. If they people couldn't figure out a way to handle that responsibility, too bad.

pleanty of people have made it up the ladder with a great deal less. It takes time and planning. If you don't want to do the planning and work hard then don't be surprised when your life suddenly goes down the toilet.

Originally posted by LLoyd45
The banks and mortgage companies have screwed everyone, and the taxpayers get the privilege of bailing them out yet again.

What really got these people were all the ARM loans the banks were flaunting about. Yes people could get into their homes cheaper, but many are now experiencing the major flaw of the ARM. Higher payments when rates increase. Those who have caps on the rates are the lucky ones, if they can still afford their homes.

That is why when I bought my home not to long ago I made sure I got a fixed rate loan. In certain places in PA, you can still find homes for under $100,000.

reply to post by TheWalkingFox

It must be really nice being a white guy with money, huh?

Come on rude remarks like that are not fair.

It is the banks and the people who screwed the economy over. The blame can't be made just on the banks. Although I do put most of the blame on them because as professional people they should understand how citizens work.

I sell Insurance for a living ( Yeah, Yeah I know) and boy you would not believe how dumb people get. I can get them to sign their lives away on a dotted line no problem. It all comes down to ethics and morals, I have high ethics and morals so I tend to be very fair to everyone. But when it comes to banks, it is either:

a) They are evil and wanted to make money off of people's misfortunes, or

b) They are really dumb, wanted to make money and did not know that giving people loans that they can not pay back would ruin the economy.

Personally I think it is "B". Banks would not make money if people can't pay back the loan with interest. What banks need to do is hire people who can actually do their jobs right and at the same time know about the economies.
That is what a manager at a bank should know.

Meh it's my 2 pennies.

Homelessness is not nearly the problem it was in the 70's (IN the USA). Somebody find some data that says there is LESS homelessness in any other country in the world! I'd like to see it. People in this country have many options. If they aren't smart enough (or for that matter, LEGAL enough) to use them, that's their problem! People whine in this country and expect government handouts if they can't afford to switch to digital broadcasts for their televisions!

If you are an illegal alien in this country and you brought your family here illegally, I don't feel sorry for you. If you don't have a job although you can work, I don't feel sorry for you. If you didn't do your homework and took out a loan that you didn't read the fine print on, you kind of screwed yourself (and your family).

I don't see America becoming a third world country unless we are nuked or have a natural disaster of unprecedented scale. A few tents outside of LA is NOT an indication IMO. (Tents? I seem to have seen some 5th wheels being lived in--you don't see those very often in Nigeria or other squallid 3rd world countries!)

BTW, those of you who want to pin this on the "predatory" mortgage companies: In a Capitalistic society where you have a choice of mortgages, these companies wouldn't be in existence if there weren't enough stupid people to fall for their game. They would go broke. If you feel you HAVE to sign on to a mortgage you can't afford, then you are selfish. GO RENT! Fix your credit rating, work hard, and THEN shop around. Can't afford to rent? Then move into your mom's basement. People have many options in this country. Checking out a library book the last time I did was FREE! Perhaps you shouldn't be sitting on the internet at ATS in your mom's basement whining about how the government won't fix your problem! You should be at the library or looking for a better job. Capitalism works (except for those who won't!)

GrimReaper797 hit the nail on the head with this one----a star on your post!

[edit on 15-3-2008 by CreeWolf]

[edit on 15-3-2008 by CreeWolf]

Originally posted by anxietydisorder

Originally posted by sy.gunson

I also agree that the US economy is headed for the Third World at warp speed.

Use the ballot box before it's too late.

I'm beginning to think this could be one of the most important elections in the history of your country.

I really urge every American to get involved, and bloody hell, take an hour out of your precious lives and go vote. A 50% turnout is not a democracy.

What election? .. There isn't going to be one because Pres. Chenny and VP. Bush will declare State of Emergency due to national economic crisis!!

very sad to see the downfall of a country maybe now the people will begin to realize what true poverty is like good luck to all that have this coming up in there future i hope God is on your side.

I went down to that tent city a few months ago. They were mostly average people and several families with children. It's a very sad state if affairs. The lot is right next to a train yard and in front of Ontario International Airport, so it's very loud. Many people are aware of the situation though, so plenty of donations are brought in.

I heard the mayor of the city granted the land for these people, so they're protected for now.

I'm thinking about helping them build a community garden on the lot, and maybe proving instruction on natural building techniques like rammed earth.

A house is only a terrain, a few bricks and paint. Even with today's prices of materials, a two bedrooms house should cost about 100k MAXIMUM to build.

The whole thing is a scam if it's more than that. And the oil prices.. COME ON. There's an artificial scarcity! And even then, other propulsions exists but it's kept off the shelves because the 1% richs wants to push the other 99% to poverty.