Feb192016
OC Homebuilders see flat pricing as best-case scenario
Analysts working for homebuilders see a flat market with weak sales as the likely future for OC Homebuilders.
At first low MLS inventory was a boon to homebuilders, but housing market manipulations give homebuilders false signals, so Orange County homebuilders oversupplied the market, and as it turned out, reflating the housing bubble hurts homebuilders, rather than helps them.
It wasn’t until early 2013 that homebuilding bounced off its five-year long malaise at 60-year lows. Homebuilding is still 40% below the average of the last 60 years, and with high prices and weak job growth, some are wondering when the industry will ever recover.
Homebuilder’s demand comes from financially stable households with sufficient savings, good credit, and a desire to own a house. Unfortunately, over the last several years, household formation has been low, potential buyers lack savings, many have bad credit, and Millennials in particular are content to rent. That isn’t an environment conducive to explosive growth in homebuilding. Wages rose in nominal terms over the last several years, but when adjusted for inflation, wages have actually declined since 2000.
(See: Poor job and wage growth holds back homebuilders)
When lenders evaluate a borrowers ability to repay a loan, they look at two important financial ratios: front-end DTI and back-end DTI. The front-end DTI is the percentage of income a borrower spends each month only on housing costs: principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and HOAs or other costs. This is typically limited to 31% of total income, but this standard has been both higher and lower at different times. The more important ratio is the back-end DTI, the total amount of debt service of all kinds as a percentage of borrower income. The back-end DTI encompasses the front-end DTI of housing debt, plus it adds all other financial obligations a borrower might have — including student loan debt.
As lenders loaded up borrowers with credit cards, student loans, and car payments, lenders kept adding to the total debt burden as a percentage of borrower income. As long as debt is unlimited — as long as lenders let borrowers go Ponzi — everything works fine.
To this day, the competition to enslave borrowers by capturing larger and larger portions of their income goes on unabated, well . . . almost unabated. The new mortgage regulations will prevent future housing bubbles, and they will ultimately force lenders to limit other forms of debt — if they ever want to underwrite another mortgage. The new qualified mortgage regulations cap debt-to-income ratios at 43% of gross income. If lenders burden borrowers with more than 12% of their income going toward other debt service (43% -12% = 31%), then any additional debt subtracts from what’s available to support a borrower’s front-end ratio, which supports a housing payment.
(See: Imprudent student debt debilitates Millennial home shoppers)
Another difficult problem facing home sales is the lack of sufficient down payment savings. The recession wiped out many people, and the tepid wage growth further held them back. To make these conditions even worse, rents have risen faster than wages, preventing people from saving what little income they have.
(See: Potential homebuyers can’t save for down payments with high rents)
Back in 2009 I wrote a post asking Will the market perish in fire or in ice? Well, since our banking system couldn’t survive a “fire” scenario, the federal reserve with collusion among politicians and bureaucrats engineered a series of bailouts to ensure the market would suffer a long deep freeze, which it has.
I didn’t foresee the steep reflation rally of 2012, but then again, nobody else did either. The problem the the ice scenario is that long-term growth is sacrificed in favor of avoiding short-term pain. The majority of the debt from the credit orgy of the early 00s was never expunged. This lingering debt held back the recovery as evidenced by a “recovery” without a single year of 3%+ growth.
(See: Necessary deleveraging and a lack of HELOC abuse is keeping the economy down)
Homebuilding usually leads the economy out of recession. The Great Recession did not end with a building boom largely because of overbuilding during the housing bubble. A false price signal triggered excessive homebuilding, and it took five years to work off the inventories.
The collapse of the housing bubble saw new home sales and construction fall to the lowest levels ever recorded — and those records go back to the 1960s. To make matters worse, rather than experiencing a sudden drop and a “V” bottom leading to a new boom, new home sales flat-lined at record lows for five straight years. This basically wiped out the homebuilding industry.
A few years ago, I heard the Riverside County manager of KB Home quip, “I’m building 10% of the homes with 10% of the staff I had in 2006.” That’s no exaggeration.
(See: New home starts surpassed lowest pre-bubble low of last 45 years in early 2013)
From early 2009 to early 2015 the stock market had a long bull run. Even though the market was overvalued, everyone convinced themselves it would continue rising, so most kept buying stocks. Now that the market is enduring a deep correction, the fallacies of “strong fundamental support” and other false truisms are exposed as frauds. The same is probably true of the housing market.
For the last several years, everyone (including myself) believed higher mortgage rates were right around the corner. With rates back down near record lows, everyone has been consistently wrong for quite a while. This has lulled everyone into a complacency typical of long bull runs. Nobody wants to believe rising mortgage rates will hurt the market, but the math is inescapable.
But until the inevitable actually comes to pass, it hasn’t happened. And like those who bought stocks right up to the peak, everyone will keep buying until suddenly nobody can afford to buy anymore.
(See: Mortgage interest rates may not go up, housing may prosper in 2016)
If mortgage rates do go up, we all know it will cause major affordability problems.
(See: Clear proof that rising interest rates kills home sales)
In the chart below, notice the gap where “rates rise faster than income.” This is an affordability gap that will drag down sales and serve as an anchor dragging down prices as well.
Does the chart above look familiar? It uses a different value benchmark, but the analysis is the same as mine.
The end result of all this analysis is that home prices, particularly new home prices, are likely to remain flat and experience low sales volumes due to a lack of affordability. That’s the best case scenario.
Worst case, sales volumes could fall off a cliff taking house prices with them.
[listing mls=”NP16030187″]
Hi Larry:
Have you considered making your blog available over https (aka ssl)? You can get a free cert in many places, and the added security is good for everyone.
Love your blog and keep up the good work.
Regarding the stock market’s run up between 2009 and 2015
“From early 2009 to early 2015 the stock market had a long bull run. Even though the market was overvalued, everyone convinced themselves it would continue rising, so most kept buying stocks.”
I don’t think this rise was driven by retail investors, but more by institutional investors. And I think the Fed and their credit creation had a lot to do with this. I found this quote (and an article over on Yves’ Smiths blog)
“the Fed’s enormous credit creation had zero effect on raising commodity prices or wages. But stock market prices doubled in just six years, 2008-15”
The article is an interesting read. You can read it here: http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/02/michael-hudson-discusses-the-federal-reserve-and-the-global-fracture.html
I would post more if this site was on https.
I am planning a major upgrade in the next 6 to 8 weeks. Based on your request, I just emailed my web developer to look into this. Since I don’t sell anything on the site, I haven’t thought I needed added security, but if it’s making people like you hesitant to comment, I will add it.
I just assume every comment is public, so I don’t write anything I wouldn’t say publicly without anonymity.
Apparently https adds additional security.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTPS
“The main motivation for HTTPS is authentication of the visited website and protection of the privacy and integrity of the exchanged data.”
The site upgrade I’m planning will have a subscription component, so I will likely need to institute https protocols to process financial transactions.
“Apparently https adds additional security”
Indeed it does.
“I will likely need to institute https protocols to process financial transactions.”
You will definitely need https for financial transactions. So you might was well make the rest of the site secure, it won’t cost (much) extra.
Thanks for everything, you are one of the good guys out there.
Thank you for the kind words — and the sound advice.
HTTPS will help protect your intellectual capital that you have going here. Good idea on moving to a subscription model for premium content. Makes your site become more legitimate and more than just a blog.
We should celebrate stable house prices. This gives prudent prospective buyers the confidence and time to save a reasonable downpayment while decreasing debt, without the fear that they’ll be priced-out of the housing market. There’s no need to rush into something while you’re not financially prepared to buy. There’s no need to buy a “starter house” you don’t really want, to just “get in” the market and have an appreciating house to help buy the house you really want.
I’ve been thinking about this for a post. The federal reserve is supposed to have a mandate to sustain stable asset values, that that has devolved into the Greenspan/Benanke/Yellen put. The federal reserve interprets its mandate for stability as a mandate against downward volatility.
I’m concerned these ultra-low mortgage rates and tight supply will further inflate house prices, and make the likelihood of future flattening or outright declines much more likely. The market is at payment affordability levels, but it’s 30% ahead of pure income affordability measurements. How do we reconcile the fact that the market got 30% ahead of itself?
Stable prices are good. But stable, unattainable prices for people are still no good. Agree with what you are saying Irvine Renter. I’d like to see a return to something normal people can afford.
In terms of reconciling it, I’m not sure you need to so long as you don’t consider the house in which you reside an investment. At this point, most areas outside of SF and NY are fairly valued. Rates affect prices. You can choose to continue renting waiting for rates to rise, but isn’t this simply speculating on rates? Is this really a viable game plan?
Yes, it is a good plan, but these endless market manipulations make houses less beneficial to future buyers than it does for previous buyers. The federal reserve shouldn’t be making decisions that transfer wealth from one generation to the next like that.
What portion of responsibility do you assign the Fed for the 10Y UST’s current rate (1.75%)? The global economy and investors share what portion of responsibility?
It’s not a good day for the Deflation-istas with the annualized CPI at 2.2%. Queue the Inflation-istas who’ve been quiet for some time.
Here’s a nice article on the topic of where rates might naturally lie under current conditions:
Governor Lael Brainard
At the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford, California
December 1, 2015
Normalizing Monetary Policy When the Neutral Interest Rate Is Low
http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/brainard20151201a.htm
Rates would be that low if not for the excessive debt creation and risk taking emboldened by the workings of the federal reserve. So while I agree that rates would probably be this low with or without intervention, it was earlier interventions and lack of oversight that created these circumstances.
Housing starts dip 3.8% in January
Housing starts fell 3.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.1 million, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
Permits, which foreshadow future starts, eased 0.2% to an annual rate of 1.2 million. That was 13.5% higher than the same period a year ago. The total tally of housing units under construction, 978,000, rose to the highest since May 2008 in January.
Starts touched a near-eight-year high in June but have eased back since then. Builder sentiment has wobbled in line with consumer confidence in recent months.
Single-family starts slipped 3.9% to a 731,000 annual pace, while single-family permits were down 1.6% to a pace of 720,000.
Home-builder sentiment slips in February, NAHB says
Reality is becoming harder to ignore
Sentiment among home builders dipped in February, the National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday.
The NAHB/Wells Fargo housing market index fell 3 points to 58, from an upwardly-revised 61 in January. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a reading of 59. Any reading over 50 signals improvement.
The index touched a 10-year high in October, and averaged 59 throughout 2015. Builders are responding to recent consumer worries about the economy, NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said in a release.
The sub-gauge that tracks current sales conditions also dropped three points, settling at 65 in February.
The gauge that tracks traffic fell to a nine-month low of 39, down five points during the month. The traffic index hasn’t topped the neutral 50 marker since the height of the housing bubble a decade ago.
[Prepare for spin.]
Builders see conditions coalescing in 2016, Crowe noted. “Historically low mortgage rates, steady job gains, improved household formations and significant pent up demand all point to a gradual upward trend for housing in the year ahead.”
It’s easy or spout BS if you have no skin in the game (like a realtor), a lot harder to believe if you have to put money on the line.
Anecdotally I have noticed a lot of high density urban developments, the kind that weren’t really that prevalent in the first real estate frenzy, and not as many big developments in the extras like there was before. I think this is a good indicator because housing is now being built where there is demand instead of just wherever it is easiest to build.
I think the builder caution is reflecting that and the industry is adapting to building more difficult and custom builds. It takes a while to turn a big ship to meet consumer demand, but those that do the quickest will be the first rewarded.
“In the exurbs”
Good observation. The mid-rise and high-rise condos from the bubble were ahead of their times. Since the market was getting a false price signal, it built the wrong product in the wrong place at the wrong time. The stuff currently being built is also ahead of its time, but that’s because low mortgage rates make the high prices necessary financeable. This time, they are building the right product in the right place. The timing may be early, but it’s as stable as interest rates are.
Market Close to Achieving Its Potential, According to First American Chief Economist’s Potential Home Sales Model
“As we discussed in last month’s release of our Potential Home Sales model, the October to November swoon was not unique to 2015. At the time, Pending Homes Sales indicated that there would be a strong rebound in December, as delayed closings due to the Know-Before-You-Owe rule eventually closed,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist, First American. “Last month, we argued that the month-over-month volatility was not an indication of any fundamental changes in market conditions. The rebound in December existing-home sales is much more in line with our expectations for market sale activity.
“This month, potential home sales remained at the 5.7 million (SAAR) level, reducing the gap between our forecasted January actual existing-home sales level and potential existing-home sales in January to a meager 168,000 sales. The market is aligning with its potential,” said Fleming.
“Mortgage rates actually declined in January due to the high degree of market volatility and the ‘flight to safety’ that drove down long-term treasury yields, the benchmark underpinning long-term mortgage rates. Originally suggesting that 2016 would be the year in which rates begin normalization, the Fed is now much more likely to slow down the pace of rate normalization due to deterioration in global economic conditions,” added Fleming. “Is it possible that mortgage rates could break through to new historic lows or remain below 4 percent for another year? As usual, mortgage rate trends will heavily influence housing prices.
“House price appreciation cooled modestly late last year, but could strengthen again based on the leverage assistance that low rates provide to consumers’ purchasing power. All else equal, lower rates mean borrowers can bid more for housing. In a market of limited supply, leverage-assisted demand drives prices higher,” said Fleming. “Actual price appreciation is currently stronger than what is fundamentally supported by market conditions. This leverage-assisted housing inflation could persist if rates remain low. Even though modest increases in mortgage rates this year would not have a dramatic impact on home sales, the likelihood of modest mortgage rate increases seems less likely now.
Now and Later: How a Stronger U.S. Dollar Impacts Foreign Buyers
* At the close of 2015, the typical U.S. home was 4 percent more expensive for domestic buyers than it was at the end of 2014. But that same home became much more expensive for foreign buyers using eight major foreign currencies.
* For those looking to invest Russian rubles in U.S. real estate, the typical U.S. home now costs 31 percent more than it did at the end of 2014, and roughly 2.5 times as much as it did two years ago.
In pure U.S. dollars and cents, the median American home is currently worth roughly 6.4 percent less than it was prior to the great recession. But foreign buyers looking to invest their Russian rubles and kopeks in U.S. real estate, or Brazilian reais and centavos (among other currencies), will find U.S. homes are more expensive than they’ve been in at least two decades – and maybe ever.
http://cdn2.blog-media.zillowstatic.com/3/Foreign-Exchange-Past-Year_1-75155a.png
According to the National Association of Realtors, foreign buyers spent roughly $104 billion on homes between April 2014 and March 2015, representing 8 percent of the existing home sales market. Shifting exchange rates, then – both up and down as the U.S. dollar ebbs and flows globally – can have a large impact on foreign demand and purchases of U.S. homes.
Logically, one might assume that as the dollar strengthens and foreign purchasing power wanes, foreign demand for U.S. real estate might also fall. But given the extreme recent volatility in global markets, and the relative stability of the U.S. housing market and U.S. economy overall, it’s actually possible that foreign demand for U.S. homes may pick up even as the dollar continues to gain strength.
The kind of Russian or Chinese buyer interested in purchasing U.S. homes, for example, is likely less sensitive to exchange rates than the more typical Russian or Chinese consumer. Rather than be dissuaded by exchange rates, they may be encouraged by U.S. housing’s stable return of about 3 percent per year – particularly if their domestic economies are contracting. And for those looking ahead at exchange rate futures, many may decide they’d rather purchase sooner instead of later while exchange rates are more favorable, providing more of a short-term boost to foreign purchases.
Life Expectancy Gaps Could Challenge Social Security
The U.S. Social Security system, which established old age benefits, is designed to be highly progressive by redistributing income from workers with high average lifetime earnings to workers—and their dependents—who have low lifetime earnings.
Under the basic benefit formula, workers that make less over the course of their lifetime will see a higher percentage of their monthly earnings replaced through Social Security benefits than workers with high lifetime earnings.
The program is one reason America’s senior citizens, when taken as a whole, have fared so well—even throughout the Great Recession. While the average income (adjusted for inflation) of households with a head below the age of 65 fell by 4 percent between 2003 and 2013, the income of those with a head 65 and over rose by 15 percent.
But new research from Barry Bosworth, Gary Burtless, and Kan Zhang finds evidence that some of the program’s progressivity is being offset due to a growing gap in life expectancy between the rich and the poor.
That gap, when taken together with the rise in average retirement ages since the early 1990s, means the gap between lifetime benefits received by poor and less educated workers and the benefits received by high-income and well educated workers is widening in favor of the higher income workers.
MORE…
Metrostudy’s Home Building Outlook: 4Q2015
Metrostudy announced today the release of its fourth quarter 2015 Home Building Outlook detailing housing construction trends nationwide. The Home Building Outlook is the platform for Metrostudy’s national and local forecasts, spotlighting the Top 100 Housing Markets across the United States.
The fourth quarter update indicates U.S. Housing Starts are expected to advance gradually to hit 1.23 million this year, with 819,000 of those being single family homes as defined by the Commerce Department. Multi-family housing starts are expected to increase to 418,000 as the rental market continues to exhibit strength. Metrostudy’s proprietary survey database, which consists of data from over 100 CBSAs and consists of hand-counted lots and newly occupied homes, indicates move-ins were 7.5% higher in the fourth quarter of 2015 than a year earlier, while new housing starts rose 12%.
Nationwide new home sales as defined by the Commerce Department are expected to increase 18% to 590,000 this year, up from the preliminary 501,000 reported in 2015. New home sales saw a sharper peak-to-trough decline than overall housing starts, and from trough to 2014 did not increased as much, resulting in a statistical catch-up.
The best overall new home markets are Denver, San Francisco, Sarasota/Bradenton in Florida, and Charleston, SC in terms of health and local new home sales forecast. The Sunbelt dominates in terms of sales volume, with the largest new home markets expected to be Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, and Atlanta.
“The U.S. housing market continues to gradually expand,” says Brad Hunter, Chief Economist of Metrostudy. “We expect steady growth for the next several years, with slower price gains in the new home sector.” Mark Boud of Real Estate Economics, a subsidiary of Metrostudy, also observes, “Some in our industry have voiced concerns about economic problems in China impacting the housing market, or high new home prices restricting demand. We recognize those factors may have some impact, but it will be not be significant enough to prevent our forecasted expansion in construction.”
Metrostudy produces the Home Building Outlook to provide the building industry with visibility into local residential construction activity as well as official national forecasts.
Consumer Spending Gains Offset Recession Fears
WASHINGTON — Consumer spending regained momentum in January as households increased purchases of a variety of goods, the Commerce Department said Friday, in a hopeful sign that economic growth was picking up after slowing to a crawl at the end of 2015.
But the outlook for consumer spending was tempered by another report on Friday showing that sentiment among households ebbed in early February. Still, the increase in consumer spending last month underscored the economy’s resilience and challenged the view that a recession was looming.
“The markets may have decided that the U.S. is headed for recession, but obviously no one told U.S. consumers,” said Paul Ashworth, chief economist at Capital Economics in Toronto.
Gold: Hedging for WHAT, Exactly?
After looking dull for years, gold is finally sparkling again. With the market in convulsions and Fed Chair Janet Yellen broaching the possibility of negative interest rates, the yellow metal is up about 17% in 2016.
Hey, I get it. People are scared. And justifiably so. Frankly, I’m a little scared about where all of this is going. But before you run out and fill up the truck of your car with precious metals (and perhaps canned goods and ammo) let’s look at gold with a cold, analytical eye. Gold could go a little higher from here. It certainly has momentum at the moment. But if you’re looking for a true crisis hedge, gold isn’t it.
Gold is less of an investment and more of an emotional ideology. Investors, and male investors in particular, have an odd way of developing feelings for the assets they buy. Just as sailors have for centuries given their ships a woman’s name, many men get possessive about their stocks. If you insult it, you might as well be insulting his wife or mother. But with gold, the attachment goes even deeper. Being a “gold bug” is not just a matter of passionately believing in the investment merits of gold. It is an identity and one that exhibits many of the characteristics of a radical political movement or even a religious cult. (There is a fundamental belief: Gold is the “one true store of value” or the “one true currency” and all imposters are heretical.)
Don’t be that guy. No one wants to be that guy. He’s a buzzkill at parties and way too intense.
Haha… I can’t help but think of awgee when I read this:
Don’t be that guy. No one wants to be that guy. He’s a buzzkill at parties and way too intense.
I hadn’t really thought about how much gold bugs really are stereotypical until I read this piece. Awgee isn’t alone in that outlook.
The best chart of investor sentiment suggesting a bottom is near for the stock market:
http://assets.bwbx.io/images/iNPGhEpgKc.M/v1/-1x-1.png
There are Fewer Bulls Now Than in March 2009 and March 2003
Usually gypsies do the best fortune telling.
Ah man! I have to get rid of my iPhone, MacBook Pro and iPad now that Trump called for a boycott! I trust his legal scholarship and opinion on this complicated issue.
Well, his views are exactly in line with Obama’s. Do you trust our president’s legal scholarship and opinion or is he out of his league understanding such a complicated issue?
He’s advocating the US’ position, without calling for a boycott. You can hold that position, if you truly understand the details, but don’t call for a boycott of the company. Just another notch on Trump’s idiot belt…
I think your love of Apple and hatred of Trump clouds your judgement on this issue. Time to recuse yourself counsel. 😉
I don’t have a strong opinion on this issue. My point was to mock someone with a strong opinion, whether informed or not, calling for an extreme action.
Extreme action is what turns on Republican voters at the moment. If Donald Trump made a campaign promise that he would go nuclear on Islamic terrorists moments after taking the Oath of Office, his approval ratings would soar.
He’s accomplishing a few things:
1. Demonstrating that he’s willing to take on the powerful, whether it be the Pope or Tim Cook.
2. Completely dominating the news cycle just ahead of another primary.
3. Reinforcing his policy positions in voters minds, by doubling down on border security vs. the Pope, and strong national security vs. Apple.
The call to boycott Apple isn’t a serious effort, but a way for him to communicate his position in a way that sticks in voters minds. What are the positions of the other candidates regarding Apple? Nobody knows or really cares. Whatever they say is going to be the safe answer.
The government position on the matter, and therefore “legal scholarship” against Apple, is being pushed by the Obama administration in the case. So Trump and Obama are on the same side of the issue.
Funny that many of Trump’s positions were once embraced by the extreme left. Did you see the article recently where is said Bush lied about WMD? Trump has found a way to turn on the Republican base with rhetoric from both sides of the aisle.
Bush either lied outright or he was the most gullible, easily manipulated wartime President we’ve ever had. My feeling is that Saddam’s attempt to assassinate his father was the only justification needed in his mind, and it was just a matter of capitalizing on Americans’ fears of another terrorist attack to get public approval. The reason Hillary and John Kerry voted in favor of the invasion was they didn’t want to go against the American public and be called unpatriotic. That would have killed their aspirations for higher office.
The left calls for boycotts against companies whose CEOs are against gay marriage or any other conservative social position all the time (Chick Filet eg). The left also tries to get fired any individual who goes against their ideology, attacking their employer with boycotts. Remember the media worker who got fired for making a Twitter joke about AIDS? Actually you can find a left wing outrage every week looking for a boycott or someone being fired.
So I find it funny when leftists have a problem with this approach when they use it every week, and don’t stand up when their own side uses it on a regular basis. If you are against it then be against it always.
Trump is a candidate for President of the US, not a loudmouth on MSNBC or Fox News.
Whenever either political party has their methods used against them, they cry foul. Hypocrisy is so prevalent in politics, most people have a cultured blindness for it.
Yep, the current furor over preventing Obama’s supreme court nominee traces its roots back to Democrats’ obstruction of Robert Bork in the 1980’s. Prior to that, confirming Supreme Court justices was not usually a big deal. Really, it was when the court started legislating more heavily from the bench, in cases like Roe vs. Wade, that this all started. When the court simply focused on interpreting the law, Americans didn’t care too much about having a say in the nomination process.
I’m with you on the Bork obstruction issue, but you lost me at “simply focused on interpreting the law.” I’m guessing you’re suggesting that whatever isn’t expressly stated in the Constitution is reserved for the states? That’s fair, but your jaw will drop when you start considering all of these issues and how desperate state law could be.
“disparate”
I understand where you’re coming from. It would be odd to have 50 different sets of gay marriage laws, for example. However, if we need a new national policy on any given issue, there is a legislative process for accomplishing that, but the Supreme Court has proved to be a quicker and easier path for highly contentious issues. It’s now expected that the court will decide these issues for us, rather than going through the hard work of building consensus and passing legislation.
The legal system is a blunt instrument that doesn’t leave a lot of room for nuance, so when the court decides issues of morality and societal family structure for us, it leads to nonacceptance by the losing side because there’s no opportunity for compromise when crafting the new policy.
But for “liberal” interpretations of Constitutional clauses, this country would be very different. I’m sure there are many Trump supporters who’d very much like that country.
The left’s political game plan has long been to label people extremists for challenging their extremist views.
Going against stare decisis and/or statutory law, thereby frustrating the efforts of Congress, prior courts, and the general will of the people used to be considered controversial. Now, upholding the Constitution is.
Irvine renter,
I noticed you mentioned Neil Kashkiri yesterday……
Are you at all suspicious about his sudden interest in TBTF banks?
Do you think the big boys are preparing us for something, like another catastrophe?
I,ve heard that Bof A and Citi are still severely undercapitalized and wobbly?
Your thoughts????
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