Housing.com News, Analysis & Opinion: Housing Market: Two interesting bits of news....

It seems that the milk of human kindness poured for evacuees in the wake of Hurricane Katrina is starting to run dry:

"I cannot help to wonder if (the unemployment) has anything to do with the uniqueness of the community," Ogunye said. "It seems like some have never had to make choices or decide for themselves...." Fellow counselor Melodie Lee was more blunt: "(Katrina) was awful, but let's move on. It is time you had a Plan B."

I'm gonna have to apologise to Robert Cote, because this display of heartlessness makes him seem like Mohandas Gandhi. If these are the JOB COUNSELORS talking, it's no wonder half of the Katrina evacuees living in Houston are still out of work.

Imagine having your home, your job, and possibly your family swept away through no fault of your own, because of a vast natural disaster. The government and local authorities completely drop the ball on helping you out. Your insurance refuses to pay for the damages done to your home, even though you've paid your bills through the nose for years. You're expected to keep paying a mortgage on a wrecked home while finding a new one, while ALSO finding a job that pays enough to take care of your family, but no one will hire you for anything better than flipping burgers because you're carrying the social stigma of being a Katrina victim.

That isn't something you just "recover from." Soldiers who go to war and come back physically whole still have the mental and emotional anguish to contend with. How is this different?

Across the globe, the Bank of Japan is getting ready for its first interest rate hike in almost six years. The scandal and frenzied opinionating is interesting enough, but take a look at this particular quote:

In March, it ended its five-year policy of "quantitative easing," under which it flooded the banking system with excess funds to offer easy credit and stimulate the economy. (Emphasis added.)

Fifteen years ago, Japan was hailed as the economic model to beat and the one we could all learn from. In a roundabout way, that's still happening, and the fact that they are just NOW making this move after ten years in a perpetual recession brought on partially by an overextended housing market, and it would appear that Santayana was indeed correct.

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It seems that the milk of human kindness poured for evacuees in the wake of Hurricane Katrina is starting to run dry: "I cannot help to wonder if (the unemployment) has anything to do with the uniqueness of the community," Ogunye said. "It seems like some have never had to make choices or decide for themselves...." Fellow counselor Melodie Lee was more blunt: "(Katrina) was awful, but let's move on. It is time you had a Plan B." I'm gonna have to apologise to Robert Cote, because this display of heartlessness makes him seem like Mohandas Gandhi. If these are the JOB COUNSELORS talking, it's no wonder half of the Katrina evacuees living in Houston are still out of work. Imagine having your home, your job, and possibly your family swept away through no fault of your own, because of a vast natural disaster. The government and local authorities completely drop the ball on helping you out. Your insurance refuses to pay for the damages done to your home, even though you've paid your bills through the nose for years. You're expected to keep paying a mortgage on a wrecked home while finding a new one, while ALSO finding a job that pays enough to take care of your family, but no one will hire you for anything better than flipping burgers because you're carrying the social stigma of being a Katrina victim. That isn't something you just "recover from." Soldiers who go to war and come back physically whole still have the mental and emotional anguish to contend with. How is this different? Disgusting. Across the globe, the Bank of Japan is getting ready for its first interest rate hike in almost six years. The scandal and frenzied opinionating is interesting enough, but take a look at this particular quote: In March, it ended its five-year policy of "quantitative easing," under which it flooded the banking system with excess funds to offer easy credit and stimulate the economy. (Emphasis added.) Fifteen years ago, Japan was hailed as the economic model to beat and the one we could all learn from. In a roundabout way, that's still happening, and the fact that they are just NOW making this move after ten years in a perpetual recession brought on partially by an overextended housing market, and it would appear that Santayana was indeed correct. Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself nearly as badly this time.