I am writing to thank you for everything you have done over the past year to suture our economic wounds and stimulate our housing market. It has been very helpful. Now, please stop.
What I loved about her article was how her anecdotes put a human face on real, unintended consequences of these programs. An informative and persuasive read — I’d comment more, but I urge you to just read it.
Just now, I was about to press “publish” on a well-sourced post containing general, publicly-available news (nothing nasty) about a large brokerage company, but then I suddenly realized it could be misconstrued as a violation of Section 15 of the NAR Code of Ethics. It got me thinking — it’s interesting to be part of an industry which essentially has its own set of rules beyond standard state and federal laws, covering areas of behavior such as libel and non-competition. Is the implication that the same laws that govern behavior in other industries are not adequate? Can it be proven that these rules “improve behavior”? And do these rules benefit the consumer, as well as the industry participants?
I don’t have the answers to these questions, though I am forming my opinions — I just throw that out there for folks to think about.
With all the ground shifting so rapidly in the real estate industry and the American economy, I was reminded of a video that was originally conceived as a PowerPoint presentation for a 150-person staff meeting at a Colorado high school in 2006 (see the Shift Happens wiki for the presentation’s history, source material, and various versions). It went viral and has been seen by at least five million viewers. Updated in 2007, the version embedded above is just as revealing now as when I first saw it. For instance — WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
The New York Times has this very interesting analysis of the evolving (and increasing) manner in which the federal government is involved in our financial sector. A must-read (in my humble opinion) for anyone interested in the benefits and risks for all of us as taxpayers and stakeholders.
