The housing bust in the U.S. has not bottomed out yet.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aDIhJH3j1sjg&refer=us
The statistics are grim ---- 19 million homes sitting empty as reported by Bloomberg
News is even grimmer when you consider that just for the first quarter of
2009 alone, California is seeing another 350,000 homes under Notices of
Default and the start of bank foreclosures. It is a mess out here in
California.
The tax revenues in America'a most populous state have shrunk so much; but the State legislators don't have a clue to handle this fiscal mess, except to raise taxes, take care of themselves, collect their paycheck and keep raising campaign funds for
their next election. Mr. Hollywood, Governator Arnold Schwazenegger is incompetent, ill-equipped to tackle the state's financial woes. He is talking Green, but the wrong kind of Green. The silly stuff... not the real stuff.
In California's housing market, Notices of Default when served upon these 350,000 homes mean that the distressed homeowners have stopped paying their monthly mortgage payments.
Compounding the problem is rising joblessness. Unemployment figures are shocking. And these have not factored in nor counted those who have stopped looking or those in deep despair and given up.
The latest figures for California reported a staggering 11.2% unemployment rate. The dire straits of joblessness has impacted not just the blue-collar sector but the high-tech sector. In Silicon Valley, the unemployment rate is 11%.
The U.S. credit card market is now a bloodbath, with more American consumers financially stressed while some banks are charging some credit card holders 15% or more in annual interest in credit card interest for credit card debts. The rates vary with those card holders carrying big balances, even though they may be paying timely installments; nonetheless, they are being charged more.
The Barack Obama White House yesterday convened an emergency meeting with some major credit card companies and lenders to try to stem the rising tide of rising credit card defaults. Given the hefty credit card rates being charged, many Americans are dead broke and can't pay their bills. There is no end in sight given America's profligacy.... borrowing, keep borrowing.
And as you know...... Americans, such as "Johnny Six Pack" and "Soccer Jane Mom"
depend on credit cards for their daily expenses.
Americans, as a whole, have little savings. They spend and spend and spend, on credit. :-) And many are now financially strapped.... with joblessness, layoffs, and no prospect of relief.
We have not seen the worst yet.
To make matters downright nasty, many Americans are trying to pick a fight with China and India, assessing these two Asian countries for taking away jobs and sticking it to the WEST with cheap imports, cheap labor, toxic products and what they are blindly saber-rattling as "unfair trade."
They accused Indians of slave child labor; the Chinese of manipulating their currency. Yet they look at themselves for the mess they themselves caused by their lifestyle of profligacy, greed, and lack of discipline. Worse, the new generation of American youth is being dumbed down with a broken education system which breeds idiots more than functioning workers.
The only growth industry today is working as a security guard, joining the U.S. military, or trying to break into "American Idol" in song and dance escapism. Hollywood is crass, vulgar, and vapid of any creative ideas... and the industry is going down the toilet with no signs of any hope but dope.
Just stay away from that dope, beer and alcohol, buddy. Stay clean. And stop bonking and doping away.
