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The unofficial definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. Nothing demonstrates this idea better than the Democratic wet dream of Housing Equity. And today, Biden demonstrates this insanity once again in his race pandering, virtue signaling, white guilt laced agenda to “close the racial wealth gap.”
Look, I get it, there is a very real statistic out there that shows that White Americans enjoy home ownership at a rate of 65.8% as opposed to 45.1% for Black Americans. I think if you went around a room of 100 people, equally divided by Republicans and Democrats, almost everyone would agree that it would be awesome if more minorities owned a house.
When people own a home as opposed to renting, there are untold benefits to the owners and the communities themselves. Homeowners have a sense of accomplishment and pride. Homeowners feel they have a greater stake in the political process. Homeowners start paying more attention to where their property tax money is being spent in the community. Homeowners begin to demand better educational outcomes from their local school systems. I know, I’ve been selling homes to minority families for over 14 years across such diverse demographic areas as Los Angeles, Atlanta, and now Austin. I’ve been in the Housing Industry for more than 20 years. I’m not a Realtor, I currently work for a one of the largest homebuilders in the country; long before that, I was in property management for big outfits in both Texas and California.
When I see politicians talk about racial inequity in homeownership, I seriously begin to hyperventilate a little. What the hell do these A-holes know about how the market really works? Anyone who knows anything about the housing world knows that avoiding any whiff of discrimination is paramount to almost any decision we make. When I was renting apartments, I underwent annual training to make sure I knew how NOT to discriminate against POC:
Now that I am in New Home Sales, the same sort of annual training is done regarding home sales:
Of course, that last one, yep – that last line above is the one the New Left goes for every time. This is where the circular definition of insanity creeps in over and over again! ‘Cause that’s the one they say creates the new “silent discrimination” policies they need to address. Because this ultimately has nothing to do with equal opportunity for home ownership, this is about EQUITY. And as a refresher course for those not paying attention, equity is about equal outcomes NOT equal opportunities. From today’s White House Fact Sheet, let’s take a quick look at what Biden intends to do with his new plans:
A. Expand the housing choice voucher program
B. Require states receiving government money to plan for affordable housing units
C. Reinstate an Obama-era rule requiring communities to create a plan to mitigate discriminatory housing practices
“Biden’s plans earmark billions of dollars to provide fair and affordable housing for middle-class families and the poorest Americans. All in all, Biden’s housing policy proposals would cost $640 billion over 10 years, although he has not detailed where any of this funding would come from.
This is back door reparations guys. This is taking taxpayer dollars and using discriminatory policies to re-allocate them to fund programs for minorities, but more specifically for Black Americans. All under the guise of levelling the playing field toward homeownership. And it is a guise…because what Progressives want, what they really, really want is an end to suburbia as a whole. It’s RACIST! But Biden and Harris and Pelosi and Schumer know they can’t just take over the zoning laws (though they sure are trying!) Instead, they will talk about equity.
I know it seems like forever ago at this point, but do you remember what happened the last time the Federal Government stuck their finger into the housing market? Let’s talk about insanity! We had an economic meltdown in the financial industry! There was that crazy little thing called the Housing Bubble that expanded and expanded like all bubbles do until one day it just popped. And why did that happen? Because Presidents from Roosevelt, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Bush, and Obama kept pushing in all sorts of big and small ways to make sure people bought a house. Whether it was the creation of Fannie and Freddie Mac, Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, Clinton pushing HUD to lower rules for down payments, to Bush pushing for 55% of HUD loans to be for “marginalized” communities – every President of every political stripe wants to be the hero that gets minorities on equal footing with the big, bad, white man.
So, here’s Biden, trotting off to Tulsa, OK to virtue signal not to the Black Community, not really, this is for all the Little Miss Karen’s of the world who feel bad in their pretty little houses. Watch him pander:
But it’s all pure theater. Because the mere ability to buy a damn house doesn’t mean you will be able to afford the damn thing year after year. So, when the government interferes in the marketplace to make home ownership more accessible and less ‘discriminatory’ they are only looking for the short-term statistical number they can use from one quarter to the next, or one year over the next. I keep seeing reports, like one in Vox, which talk about how homeownership has declined from 2001, and even in Biden’s address in Tulsa, he specifically stated that Black American home ownership is lower today than it was when the Fair Housing Act was created over 50 years ago. But if you actually dig into the numbers from 2017 to today, Black American home ownership has increased at a FASTER pace than White Americans. 2.6% to 2% respectively. But that doesn’t fit the narrative, so they go back to 2001 so they can incorporate the losses of home ownership during the 2008 housing crisis, which affected every demographic.
I'm glad Biden is talking about the racial wealth gap, but to be clear, no amount of Black home-ownership or Black-owned businesses will close the gap. Cancel student debt, protect workers, tax wealth.
— Brian Kennedy II (@BrianEKennedy2) June 1, 2021
More capitalism is never the answer.https://t.co/vgMVSPyl1Q
For the 14 years that I have been in the Big Builder business of selling homes, we have been desperately trying to figure out ways to target the younger market (specifically Millennials) and minority groups. Why? Because that’s where the money is. So seriously, Capitalism IS the answer to getting people of color into the world of homeownership. If there wasn’t money to be made in this sector, there wouldn’t be houses for anyone to buy dumb ass. These people are spending their money on apartments, and we want them to spend that money with us.
Is that selfish corporate interest? Maybe, but what I have seen in the last few years specifically is a wonderful world of young people buying homes. I see minority women coming in with their families and they are the first in their whole family line to buy a home. Last week I was moved by the story from a Cuban man who finally got his citizenship after 5-years in America and wants nothing more than to buy a home for himself, his wife and his 3-year-old daughter.
Almost to a person, I ask them “Why now?” “What made you come into my office today looking to buy a home?” And the answer is almost always “I’m tired of paying rent” and/or “The interest rates made it impossible to deny how this would be better for my family.” So, if The Government really wanted to help underserved communities into home ownership, quit trying to make it about quotas and equity. Instead, get rid of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and work on monetary policy that helps keep interest rates attractive to first time homebuyers.
So quit telling the lie that home ownership is hard to come by because of some racial injustice. It just isn’t true. The neighborhood I sell in today has 13 different floorplans specifically designed to meet the needs of lower income folks. In a city with the median home price at $370K and going up every week, I have homes for $100K to $150K less, just 11 miles from the city center. Every day, I am literally building a neighborhood as diverse as you could imagine… no thanks to Biden.
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GWB says: it would be awesome if more minorities owned a house
You have to get them out of the cities, first.
This is back door reparations guys.
Meh, not really. It’s mostly grift and graft.
Because the mere ability to buy the damn house doesn’t mean you will be able to afford the damn thing year after year.
Aha! There’s the fallacy. You don’t actually have the “ability to buy the house” if you’re financing it with a mortgage. You are demonstrating an ability to pay into the future in order to move into the house.
If we want to truly make it easier for people of all colors to buy homes early in their lives and reap all those benefits, we have to lower the cost of housing back to a point where they can be reasonably purchased with cash or with much shorter term loans. We have to look at building codes and zoning laws that basically push people into either apartments or larger homes.
And, somehow, we have to incentivize (without becoming that which we loathe) builders to build those cheaper homes.
Black American home ownership is lower today than it was when the Fair Housing Act was created over 50 years ago.
Hmmmmm…. It’s almost like gov’t programs make things worse. (Cf. Sowell and Elder and Williams)
no amount of Black home-ownership or Black-owned businesses will close the gap
Hmmm, then you’re not really looking at the same gap as the rest of us, are you? (Your gap is more of the one between you and more of that sweet, sweet racialist lucre.)
they are the first in their whole family line to buy a home
And that is something you really only find in America, because we don’t actually hold people down on the basis of their class or race or anything else. Unless, of course, you’re a politician.
helps keep interests rates attractive to first time home-buyers
Nope. Because the only way to do that is to also destroy the ability of those same families to save. Better to bring down the price of houses so that families aren’t committed to 30 years worth of mortgage payments.
(A lot of things contribute to the relative expense of houses nowadays, not least of which is the view of what counts as “adequate” for that American dream. Another is the drive by local gov’ts for tax income growth. Another is code “improvements” that bring more expense than the marginal safety they provide. There are more.)
Conte says: Black American population are younger than white American population, stats are meaningless without context
Along with the fact for the last 45 years black culture has encourage single motherhood, one of two factors that determines middle class wealth in America, if it a single family home.
Which is one of the major reason for Asians wealth gap with white Americans, white American divorce rates and single motherhood households.
And if you look at the policy it excludes only Whites, Americans are eligible for free 25,000 are Asians,Hispanic,black,Native Americans EXCEPT White. How is this not the most discriminatory policy I’ve ever seen and for White Americans tolerate this kind discrimination is beyond pathetic.
Ryan Waxx says: >> This is back door reparations guys.
> Meh, not really. It’s mostly grift and graft.
Grift and Graft in a racist manner in order to benefit blacks is the actual definition of reparations. Unless you thought reparations was gonna happen without the Big Guy getting his 10%.
Dwayne says: House across the street front m us was purchased 15 years ago by a young woman who lived in Section 8 housing. Her extended family moved in while she continued to reside in Section 8 apartments.
In that fifteen years:
* They never paid their homeowners dues
* Rarely cut the grass resulting in the city citing them monthly for high weeds (a foot or higher)
* Junker autos on the property being hauled off by the city
* Police showing up to settle domestic disputes at least 5-7 times
Property was put up for auction for failure to pay taxes…twice, with them coming up money after vacating the house and then moving back in. They were finally foreclosed on and abandoned the house. Zillow lists the property value at $200K+. House was listed at $130K with no financing, no inspection and no repairs. Also, in today’s market it was listed for 5 months. 5 months in a market that homes sold in 5 HOURS!
Why? Because of the condition of the home.
Volunteer trees against the house cracking the brick walls. Lack of watering the yard caused the concrete slab foundation to shift and crack requiring piers to be installed. Red carpet BLACK with dirt and grime. Every light fixture in the place broken. Three dump trucks of garbage hauled out of the house and back yard. Fence literally falling down.
Not one damn thing was done to maintain that property for 15 years. Just because someone can ‘afford’ to buy a house doesn’t mean they can afford to maintain it or have the wherewithal to keep it livable. Not everyone can handle home ownership. It’s hard work. I bought a house before I was mature enough to handle one and I lost it. Some folks are better off paying rent forever.
GWB says: “Volunteer trees”?
Scott says: Trees that grow from dropped seeds / runners from existing trees.. Basically any tree not intentionally planted
GWB says: Ah. Never heard that. Thought maybe they were trees from Tennessee or something.
Scott says: Lol… My dad was a forester once upon a time, and taught me more than I’d ever want to know about trees..
Mike V. says: The idea that “everyone should be able to own a house” was promoted and signed into law by Bill Clinton in the 90s. It gave us the Housing and Banking Crash of 2008.They just won’t learn.
JAW3 says: Yes! And Biden* is going to do it again. Check out the AFFH act to see how they are really going to stick it to whitey.
This definitely is NOT backdoor reparations. That is because they are not going to back door reparations–they are very upfront about that. They want this AND reparations, and whatever else they can think of whenever they think of it.
[…] go wrong for a whole host of reasons, California Democrats think this is the way to bridge the home-ownership gap between white people and black folks, who may or may not have been descendants of slaves in […]
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