2) Small data set but I have a few friends who have relatives that have said, "why would I want to work when I'm getting all this stuff for free?"
There're ample data showing a broad based general shift in American culture; check out post #15 the way Ameircans have changed their source of financial support. From 2006 to 2009 we saw 4% go from wages to gov't assistance --it had been static for three decades following a similar shift in the late 1960's.
Even so, this 4% cultural change would not explain the 16 million increase in the "not-employed" working age population that we're seeing in the raw data. My take is we got left-wing misrepresentation of bls research.
I’m in Chicago. It’s a mess.
Home Prices Rising Slightly
by John Burns
John explains on Fox Business News what our team is seeing:
Strength in the markets where foreign buyers are active
Weakness in the entry level, where potential buyers have almost $1 trillion more in student debt than they did one decade ago
Some overpriced situations such as San Francisco, where prices have risen much faster than incomes and the housing cost / income ratio is much higher than norm. Nonetheless, John is expecting prices to keep appreciating there this year because demand continues to exceed supply, even at these prices.
Some huge submarket differences such as Chicago, where our local office leader says downtown is doing fine and the distant suburbs are extremely soft
John was surprised to hear from the reporter that government officials believe we are having a robust housing recovery. We were having one, but it is a flattish recovery now. If there is a message to be communicated to those in DC, it is that the focus needs to be on continued job and wage growth, and better clarity for the banks on mortgage underwriting. That is what we need to get back to—— a normal level of 800K new home sales per year, which is almost double where we are at right now.
