As simplistic as my personal view is I think the basic ingredient missing that would help rectify our failing and struggling economy even with all of the elements still intact is a shift in ideology.

Money is the root to all evil. We "rich and poor" thrive on living above our means and we risk everything "love, money, families, security" to reach for our dreams whether they are lofty or meek in nature.

Selfishness and greed can take each and every one of us to our knees when the next player with higher aspirations comes along and pulls the rug out when we're so focused on our own schemes that we lose sight of the bigger picture.

As uncomfortable and old fashioned that sacrificing and living within our means can make us feel, instead of striving to be the number one top dog at any cost, I believe an equal balance could be reached with belt tightening starting from the top not the bottom.

Jeeeez.... it really doesn't take a freakin' genius to look around the globe and see how the masses are reacting when they've finally had enough of being royally f**ked by those in power over them.

Do those in power here at home really think they will be able to prevent the tide from rising when nature finally takes it course and all hell breaks loose?

America is a combustible melting pot with a lid that's been primed and ready to explode for decades. The youth of this generation have minds of their own and there are more of those who don't seem to place much faith or respect in their elders than those that do.

It's just a matter of time before our country... well... let me just say that I don't see things moving on the tolerant and inclusive track that is being claimed we're all venturing forward on from where I sit in my tiny corner of the earth.

What I am saying is that human nature persuades us all to live like there's no tomorrow. To take risks that would allow us to get what we want out of our lives without much thought of any negative consequences until we have to face them. And our aims whether we are at the top or the bottom of the totem pole are basically all the same.

And regardless to whether we invent or change laws to sanction our greed and clear our conscious as we compete in the rat race to get ahead, or we just fly by the seat of our pants and hope for the best, we are all equally responsible for the gigantic mess we've collectively made here in the USA, and pointing fingers to shift the blame isn't doing a damn thing to fix anything.

It's time for those in powerful positions to man up and set the example for the rest of us.

These are simply my personal beliefs and are not meant to persuade or dissuade others from their own personal beliefs.

Please forgive my contrary stance it is not meant to offend... but I do not see anything in our country as an entitlement for the working class. There are absolutely no handouts. None of us are receiving anything we are not giving up something else to get. And we can change the way things are if they aren't working for the majority who takes a stand and voices/votes in a new era.

Silly girl, don't you see? In our new entitlement society, no one has to work. Working class and hard work is a thing of the past. One just has to apply for what they want and they better damm sure get it. It's trickle up poverty.

Getting back to the original topic ...

What I see going on in the USA is the promotion of a bad philosophy about home ownership.

Way too many Americans treat the buying of a house the same way that they treat the buying of an automobile. They want to be able to trade in their current model for a newer one every few years.

It is questionable if own the building but definitely not the land upon which it sits witnessed by the fact you must pay property taxes. Failure to pay those taxes will result in the state seizing the land and all else not easily removable upon it. So unless you can restore a right of ownership above that of fee simple, then it is just an illusion.

And health care is not expensive, medical care is. There is a world of difference. Most people are under the illusion that to be healthy requires medicine when in actuality it is just the opposite.

If you want to be healthy, drop the medicines and restore the body to it's natural health. All it takes is diet, pure natural wholesome raw vegetables. You can even grow them right in your back yard at the fraction of the cost of the store. The taste and health benefits are just beyond description.

Do even better, refuse to pay the penalty and fight for your rights. But neglecting health is not cheaper, it just leads to medicine.

Downgraded to apartment renters, that isn't really true, they were apartment dwellers that mistakenly believed they could pay for what they couldn't afford. If they could of afforded the home, they would still be there. It is all a matter of responsibility, accepting responsibility that is.

And I would disagree on two accounts: First, there is plenty of inventory on the market with real prices dropping daily. Second, that inventory is soon to begin to increase at a faster scale than even before. Third, the increase in prices are another false illusion by the real estate industry. It is not that properties have increased in value but that there is more money floating in the economy due to QE than there are goods, it's called inflation.

But then, all these false illusions are about to explode, the death of fiat currency. As the old saying goes, "may you live in interesting times", well you ain't seen nothing yet, this world is about to experience something never before experienced by mankind.

Spoken like a true renter, but our founders would have disagreed with you very strenuously. And from the looks of things, they were absolutely right.

Property rights are never so jeopardized except when allowed to be determined by those without property. It will always resolve to equality, not in uplifting the inferior but to diminish the superior.

Just another ad hominem attack right, sort of like claiming racist by the Odumboites.

That is not the cause, just the effect. It is just another excuse by the masses to keep from accepting responsibility for their actions. They are under the illusion that a small group of people somehow have a magical hold on a dominantly bigger mass. That is only possible when that dominantly bigger mass refuses to accept responsibility for their own actions.

To get to the cause you must go to the source, the ignorant masses. Only when a sufficient quantity of the ignorant accept knowledge will things truly start to change.

Last time that number was approximately 17%, but then they deemed it necessary to use force to counter violence. Currently that number is projected at approximately 20%, but it has not become necessary to use force, but with the increased violence of the government, who knows. So either one of two things must occur. First, either the government will increase the level of violence that there is no option but force, not the good choice but seldom is the choice of government good. Or, second the percentage of people willing to take peaceful action must increase dramatically, don't need a majority but enough to effect change, not Odumbo change, real change.

Wrong on two counts: First, as long as there is a mortgage, the bank owns, the mortgagee occupies. Second, if the property is "upside down", there is no ownership, just an enslavement to something with no value, worse than no value, to walk away would still leave one owing on something once doesn't even now occupy, a nothing.

I don't think it an assumption at all. If all you have is a trust deed, and that trust deed is based on not having any option outside total loss should any number of thing happen, then you are hanging over the edge of a tall cliff with a very thin rope.

And oh, the current economy is grinding away at that rope. It's not going to be a soft landing.

What about the current bubble? And all those pins.

Define "afford"! And how about investment properties, how defined?

Good news, I would think that with the overabundance of signs that there will be no good news should rest on most peoples minds, but that wont happen, everything will just keep coasting along until the big boom and then everyone will just act surprised, the old who would have know syndrome.

Buyers, no those are dreamers. If you can't do the down payment nor pay the price, you are just dreaming, not buying.

Hey, it is affordable. The really unaffordable is yet to come. First you sucker them in and then you lower the boom.

And just what sellers market are you referring to? The last sellers market was the 2005 bubble that so ceremoniously exploded in 2008.

Well for sure about Odumbo being hand picked, he told a friend back in 1998 he would be president, not may, would.

But Odumbocare was his price of admission, the price to be paid to be dictator. And he has not disappointed.