Box Living - here’s how we got into this mess

For some time now we have seen things slowly coming to the point we are now. It has not happened overnight or over one or two terms in office for our leaders.

Greed has had a lot to do with the shape of things and not just in the home industry but also with the auto industry as well as our import and exports. Many people did not want to see it but the signs were always there.

There were so many people with a “Jones” attitude, as in ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ that bought into the belief that with nothing or little down they could have that half million dollar house and pay only a thousand bucks a month payment. They didn’t believe that balloon payment due in five years would make any difference in their lives.

Well it did and every one of those who were selling or brokering those worthless pieces of paper was making a fortune. Greed on everyone’s part and it all came falling down around us

Banks are foreclosing on homes at record rates. Illinois is up 60% and California its up 40%. The rest of the country is following suit with foreclosures and rising unemployment. Now I don't know a lot about how the economy works, but if people are starting to lose their homes at such an alarming rate, I think we might be in trouble.

We have a huge trade imbalance with China. Which means, they send us way more stuff than we send them and what we are sending them is way too valuable right now. We send our steel and metals like copper tubing for the massive building going on over there. We ship from Alaska our natural resources like liquefied natural gas and propane, both commodities we could use here to bring our prices down.

What that means to us is our ports are filled with empty cargo containers.

What to do with them?

An architect in Los Angles is using them to build low income housing. The containers are already insulated and have hard wood floors. All you have to do is cut some windows in them, wire them for power, cable, and plumbing and you have a home. These can then be placed next to public transportation so everyone can leave the vehicles at ‘home’ or close to the on-ramps so people can hitch hike to work.

These are the same boxes that brought you the crap you really couldn't afford anyway . . . that we don't make in America any more . . . so you put it on a credit card . . . got behind in your payments . . . and then the bank foreclosed on your home.

It might just be China's long term strategy to take control of America. The Japanese and Germans have been buying up big chunks of real estate in major cities for over fifteen years now. I remember when I lived in Atlanta the Japanese bought the IBM tower and several other big buildings. Once we are reduced to a broke nation of people living in boxes they can just come on over and buy the rest of whatever it is we are still paying off.

Sadly, we will all be living in a box waiting at the off ramp for Chinese hand outs.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Ice