IN YOUR FACE AMERICA: YET ANOTHER REASON TO BE ASHAMED!

THE LAND OF THE WEALTHY POOR: ANOTHER AMERICAN SHAME!
Enough money for 'bread & circus' but not enough to live.

This seems almost paradoxical when viewed from the surface. But let me explain: Across America are millions of people, young families and elderly retired, who fit this description.

The Haas family lives in Idaho, where their joint income comes to what would seem a rather tidy $40,000 a year [about $36,500 after taxes] and they own their home ... a manufactured [mobile] home. They live in a very well-kept community [park] where they pay a handsome sum of about $700 a month for lot rent. Yes, they own their home but not the land underneath.

Yes, they own their home but will pay rent on that home for as long as they live there. They have disposable cash, savings, and live on retirement income. They drive a car [7 years old] that's paid for as well. One would think, on the face of things that they are pretty well off. With no debts, a home and car paid for, and some [not a whole lot, but enough] in the bank that they are doing well.

When this couple takes a vacation to Florida or even Hawaii one things, "They've got it good. How nice." but that's not the case. What is the case? The case is that they want to own their own home and the land underneath. They want to live where failure to pay monthly rent won't get them tossed out on the street. They want to be able to get enough money together to buy a stick-built home or even a condominium. They want a small slice of pie from "The American Dream" but that's not happenin'.

What's wrong here? They've got no debts and they've got money in the bank and they have a retirement income. What could possibly be wrong? Answer: Houses cost a small fortune and interest rates are skyrocketing ... again. They are too old to have a sustainable credit score so a long on a very modest $400,000 home is going to mean payments of well over $1,000 a month on a 30-year fixed mortgage. They are old. They won't live another 30 years for God's sake!

A more reasonable mortgage of 15-years is going to cost them well over $2,000 a month and there goes their liquidity out the window! Essentially they'll be paying 'rent' to the bank for as long as they live and for a whole lot more! What in Hell is wrong with this picture? Houses have become so damned expensive and interest has gone so damned high it's squeezing Americans out of their homes and destroying their dreams of home ownership.

Look at the Oberly family, a young family of 4. Mr. and Mrs. Oberly work jobs and, between them, bring in an after-tax income of about $60,000 after taxes. Wow! That's a lot of money! Not really, it used to be a lot of money, but not anymore. Their income distils to $5,000 a month between them and there is the rub.

With two children, a dog, and the Mr. and Mrs. $5,000 doesn't go as far as it used to. A modest 'averagely-priced' home in or around Boise costs about $600,000. They're young so a 30-year-fixed mortgage at the current 6.5% is going to run them about $3,800 a month. Once property tax and HOA fees are included that comes to around $4,200 a month! Damn! That means their 'take home' pay has just been reduced to $1,200 a month.

With this they have 4 1/2 mouths to feed, a car payment, insurance, and the necessities of raising a family and you don't have a hell of a lot left!

For the Oberlys the only answer to rent. The typical gouging landlord for a property large and safe enough to house a family of 4 with a pet will run about $2,500 a month. Yep, with rent to pay forever and a day at least they can hope to have a little disposable income for nice things that they deserve. Or they can save their nickels and dimes and hope to get enough money together over the next 10 years for a down payment that will bring a house payment down to a manageable level of about what they are paying for rent. That's the ticket! ... Unless the government socks us with another interest rate hike which sets the Oberly and the Haas family back to where the government obviously believes "they belong".

Say "Hello" to the wealthy poor.

I'm Max, this makes my ass hurt. And that's the way I see it!