So, not only do the Bush admin. economic policies and hands off approaches to trade and deficit mismanagement hurt, the litteral encouragement of companies to flee the country, in the name of corporate and shareholder profiteering; also contribute in many ways unseen by most of the people outside the upper midwest, to the further demise of the working middle classes. Especially the Union rich areas of decades ago. And something tells me the leaders of this new brand of Fascism could care diddly squat!Michigan foreclosures double in two years, now 2 1/2 times U.S. rate
2/27/2006, 5:14 a.m. ET
The Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — The number of homes undergoing foreclosure in Michigan doubled from February 2004 to February 2006 to a rate that is 2 1/2 times the nation's, according to a group that monitors foreclosures.
Michigan had 8,240 homes in active foreclosure on Monday out of 96,019 nationwide, the Boca Raton, Fla.-based Web site http://www.foreclosure.com says. In February 2004, the state had 4,085 foreclosures in progress.
Michigan's active foreclosures are 8.6 percent of the U.S. total, while the state's population of 10.1 million is only 3.4 percent of the nation's 296.4 million.
The rise in Michigan foreclosures comes as the state's unemployment rate remains high and appears to be heading higher.
The state's seasonally adjusted jobless rate ended 2005 at 6.7 percent, compared with the national rate of 4.9 percent. Economists say they expect the state's annual unemployment rate to edge up this year and again in 2007.
Lenders lose up to $50,000 per foreclosed house as they sell them off at below-market prices. That can lower property values in neighborhoods, drive other residents away and hurt property tax collections for local governments.
"Foreclosure depresses an area in a variety of ways," LaSalle Bank chief economist Carl Tannenbaum told The Detroit News.
Wayne County alone had 3,342 houses in the foreclosure process Monday, 41 percent of the state total despite the fact that its about 2 million residents make up about a fifth of the state's population.
On Wednesday, Katherine Ben-Ami, a lawyer for the Wayne County sheriff's office, supervised the auction of 379 foreclosed homes in the county.
"This is the worst I've ever seen," said Gary Meyers, a foreclosure specialist with Venturi Realty of Salt Lake City who was present for Wednesday's sales. "I've been all over the U.S., and the most I've ever seen in a day is 30."
Couple ALL that with the undeniable lessening of houshold savings. Real after tax disposable incomes. Increased consumer prices. Cuts of all types of Health Care. Skyrocketing energy costs..... should I go on?
Cummon, America. Turn this shit around this November!
Hey, boy. But that DOW cleared 11,000 bro!!! Yipee!!!!!!!
