Buying & Selling: D.C. Doldrums,Revisited

The lovely Velvet in Dupont has composed a lacerating no-love note to Alan Greenspan for enjoying the irrational exuberance of his retirement while the market he propped up crashes around him:

Your intent in keeping the economy afloat was a wise foresight on your part. But, you should have stopped with the rate reductions at some point earlier than 2003. You should have also increased the rates at a much faster pace than you did. Since you are so good at shooting your mouth off, you should have also warned all those homebuyers: If they can’t afford a fixed rate mortgage, then they can’t afford that particular house. Of course, you didn’t though. You’re saying it now, but back then, you were happy that the homebuilding industry was keeping the economy afloat and that you looked like a hero. You can’t give stupid people a bunch of money and not advise them of some basic financial rules because everyone else has to suffer the fallout when those people mismanage their money.

It's ridiculous how right this is. Just read the whole thing, won't you?

By the way, did you know that the District's own subprime contaigon has spread all the way from Anacostia to Fairfax? Think about it--the richest and poorest alike are both trapped in subprime hell. The former because it was the only way they could afford a home in pricey, increasingly-gentrified D.C., and the latter because they were trying to buy million-dollar homes on five-figure-incomes. Urban Trekker has the whole thing catalogued, so again, read the whole thing.

Posted at March 20, 2007 04:10 PM

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The lovely Velvet in Dupont has composed a lacerating no-love note to Alan Greenspan for enjoying the irrational exuberance of his retirement while the market he propped up crashes around him: Your intent in keeping the economy afloat was a wise foresight on your part. But, you should have stopped with the rate reductions at some point earlier than 2003. You should have also increased the rates at a much faster pace than you did. Since you are so good at shooting your mouth off, you should have also warned all those homebuyers: If they can’t afford a fixed rate mortgage, then they can’t afford that particular house. Of course, you didn’t though. You’re saying it now, but back then, you were happy that the homebuilding industry was keeping the economy afloat and that you looked like a hero. You can’t give stupid people a bunch of money and not advise them of some basic financial rules because everyone else has to suffer the fallout when those people mismanage their money. It's ridiculous how right this is. Just read the whole thing, won't you? By the way, did you know that the District's own subprime contaigon has spread all the way from Anacostia to Fairfax? Think about it--the richest and poorest alike are both trapped in subprime hell. The former because it was the only way they could afford a home in pricey, increasingly-gentrified D.C., and the latter because they were trying to buy million-dollar homes on five-figure-incomes. Urban Trekker has the whole thing catalogued, so again, read the whole thing.