The Declining State of Home Ownership in the U.S.

Two of the best measures of how affluent a society is, are the percentage of home ownership and the average size of a home.  After years of growth in both of those areas, we are now seeing rapid declines.

In 2004, the percentage of the population that owned their own home peaked at 69.2%.  This was primarily due to the Clinton Administration pushing the banks to extend loans to low income families.   A practice that the "W" Bush Administration eased up on.  Note those facts from the following graph from the St. Louis Federal Reserve's economic database:

Click on Image to Enlarge or Use Link Below

Today, the percent of home ownership is still declining at a rapid rate and the decline appears to not be abating.  The reason is simple.  With the median home price at $189,000, not many new buyers can afford the 20% down payment (averaged at nearly $38,000) needed to meet existing mortgage requirements.  To that point, 63% of Americans, in a recent survey, said they couldn't afford to pay a surprise auto repair of just $500.  Also understand, the real median household income is as low as it was almost 20 years ago.  That's a loss of 20 years of buying power since the recession.

The fact that people can't afford to put 20% down on  a home is also the reason that the average home size is falling in order to make homes more affordable.  The average home size hit a record 2,598 sq. feet in 2014; primarily driven by larger new homes.  Today, the average new home is just 2,392 sq. feet; meaning that the average size of all homes will be dragged down.  This loss of slightly more than 200 sq. feet is the equivalent of a room that is 14'x14'.  A significant loss of space.

The truth is that Americans aren't doing well despite what Barack Obama would have you believe.  Is this the "fundamental change" that the President promised us in 2008?

References:

Homeownership Rate In U.S. Drops to the Lowest Since 1965: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-28/homeownership-rate-in-the-u-s-tumbles-to-the-lowest-since-1965

Real Median Household Income: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N

Source of graph: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N

Most Americans can't handle a $500 surprise bill: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/most-americans-cant-handle-a-500-surprise-bill/

The Median Home Price Is $188,900. Here’s What That Actually Buys You: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/13/median-home-price-2014_n_4957604.html

Average home size sets new record: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-06-02/business/chi-average-home-size-sets-new-record-20140603_1_home-size-home-builders-new-record

Median new single-family home size shrinks by nearly 3% in Q2: http://www.constructiondive.com/news/median-new-single-family-home-size-shrinks-by-nearly-3-in-q2/424601/

Elkhart, Indiana: Obama Touts His Economic Success

Last week, while giving a speech on the economy in Elkhart, Indiana, President Obama said this:

“By almost every economic measure, America is better off than when I came here at the beginning of my presidency. That’s the truth.”

The problem with that statement is that it isn't "the truth".  The folks at Zero Hedge, a business, stock market, and economics site, presented this series of 9 graphs to refute it:

Pink Shading Obama's Term in Office...Click on image to enlarge

This is a President who has increasingly presided over one negative economic record after another.  And, there is another not included in the above records: The highest number of Americans in poverty --  nearly one in seven -- since Lyndon Johnson declared a "War on Poverty" more than 50 years ago.  Also, Obama is slated to have the 4th worst economic record in the history of the country.  Only Herbert Hoover, Andrew Johnson, and Teddy Roosevelt were worse.

This President not only thinks, but knows, that most people will believe his lies because they don't understand all the facets and facts that make up the economy, and aren't interested in researching what he says.  And, for sure, the liberal media isn't going to do their job and expose his lies.

References:

Obama visits Elkhart to discuss economy: http://www.idsnews.com/article/2016/06/obama-in-elkhart

Chart Source: These Are The 9 Zero Hedge Charts Showing "Obama's Recovery" That Angered The Washington Post: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-03/these-are-9-zero-hedge-charts-showing-obamas-recovery-angered-washington-post

Record 46.7 Million Americans Live In Poverty; Household Income Back to 1989 Levels: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-16/record-467-million-americans-live-poverty-median-houshold-income-back-1989-levels

Barack Obama's Sad Record on Economic Growth | RealClearMarkets:  http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2016/02/01/barack_obamas_sad_record_on_economic_growth_101987.html

The Lives of Living Blacks Matter More

In the U.S., blacks disproportionately live shorter lives.  They are more likely to be killed; not by whites, but by other blacks.  Their babies are more likely to be aborted.   Hispanics aside, they are generally less educated and more often illiterate.  They have higher drug addiction rates, commit crimes, and are imprisoned more often. There are higher rates of unemployment. Poverty is common and home ownership is not.  Lastly, most black babies are born to single mothers.

This is a national disgrace. It is an issue that is much greater than those chanting "Black Lives Matter" over a very small number of unarmed blacks that are killed by white cops.

For decades, the Democrats have pandered to black citizens for their votes.  Billions of government spending to better black lives hasn't worked, and most of the things noted in the first paragraph are things that blacks, themselves, can control; starting with the lack of a strong family unit.

72% of black babies are born to unwed mothers. A primary reason that black women are 3 times more likely to be in poverty as compared to white single women with the black poverty rate of 28.6%.  Of all the abortions in this country, more than 35% are of black fetuses.  Essentially, the concept of "family" is missing in the black community.  It is this lack of a complete family unit that leads to higher levels of crime, gang membership, and lower education levels.

In order to improve black lives, we need high-profile activism that preaches the importance of a strong family and a good education.  A good education starts with, somehow, tamping down the education-interrupting violence in inner city schools.  Contrary to what seems to be in some minds, being well educated and having a strong family is not being an "Uncle Tom".  Not everything is the white man's fault, and someone needs to tell that truth and stop perpetuating that opposing and eternal lie.


References:

CNN's Don Lemon says more than 72 percent of African-American births are out of wedlock: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2013/jul/29/don-lemon/cnns-don-lemon-says-more-72-percent-african-americ/

Fact Sheet: The State of African American Women in the United States: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/report/2013/11/07/79165/fact-sheet-the-state-of-african-american-women-in-the-united-states/

Black Americans Have Fewer Years to Live – Here's Why: http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/01/05/black-americans-have-fewer-years-to-live-heres-why

FBI: Murder Victims and Offenders by Race:   https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded-homicide/expanded_homicide_data_table_6_murder_race_and_sex_of_vicitm_by_race_and_sex_of_offender_2013.xls

Blacks Abortions: https://www.google.com/search?q=number+of+blacks+abortions&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Statistics of incarcerated African-American males - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistics_of_incarcerated_African-American_males

Illiteracy Statistics: http://www.statisticbrain.com/number-of-american-adults-who-cant-read/

Walter E. Williams: Why are inner-city schools more violent today than in the past?: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765550887/Why-are-inner-city-schools-more-violent-today-than-in-the-past.html?pg=all