Jason William Keith’s Blog

They have a few commercials that are designed to  renew your confidence in the in the economy.  I know I feel better after watching them.  They are a bit subtle;  in fact, you have probably seen them before.  This one is my personal favorite:

This one isn’t bad either.

And for those of you keeping score at home, I ripped almost this entire post off from Tyler Cowen.

This kiosk jumped out at me in the checkout line at Kroger.  I cannot help but wonder how much financial incentive these companies are giving to Kroger for pushing their products.

See the video here and sign the petition here.

I can’t stress it enough. The real losers in the housing bailout are responsible Americans who continue to save and not overextend themselves financially. Anybody whose mortgage is saved via taxpayer intervention should be forced to forfeit any gains from the future sale of their property.

Walmart (previously Wal-Mart) has unveiled a new logo. And yes, it really is my favorite store.

I am totally against any form of mortgage bailout. I also was and still am opposed to Congress’s bailout of Bear Sterns. The reality is very few Americans (proportionally speaking) stand to lose their homes. And if banks and mortgage companies lose money or go out of business then that is the nature of the free market. The real victim of the mortgage fallout is responsible Americans who did not buy more home than they could afford and aspiring home owners who are renting (and not getting an IRS subsidy in the form of a tax break) while they save for the purchase of a home.

It is refreshing to see Congressman Feeney stand up for the forgotten Americans.

Two weeks ago I was lecturing two of my coworkers about homeownership. I explained to them that there was insufficient reason for me to purchase a home in the current market, and if need be - I would rent indefinitely. I added that I felt a lot of American’s have been misled into believing that the American Dream is owning a home. I believe the American Dream is freedom and economic prosperity, and for many American’s, home ownership prevents economic prosperity. My reasoning is simple. Many homeowners simply buy too much house and end up being house-poor. Others bought homes in an overvalued market and are now upside in their homes (negative equity.) Owning a home also makes people less mobile, in turn makes it tougher for them to relocate to accept better work. Top that off we the fact that most people own homes outside of the city or in suburbs which requires longer commutes and ever-increasing gas bills. For me, weighing these negatives (and an overvalued market) against the perks of homeownership makes renting a no-brainer for me.

So imagine my surprise when I stumbled across a Paul Krugman article in today’s NY Times that confirmed most of my argument.