Thanks Beef Hooked
My problem is I cannot stand Hypocrites! Those that lament they cannot buy a home have the new car, Ipod, Phone, holidays etc... Don't ***** about having no money when you spend it all!
Peter 14.7
Yes I agree and I too get annoyed and many times when a friend or associate gets into trouble theres a clear path out of their woes but heaven forbid if they "had step down a little from their current lifestyle" but... the same logic applies to many other attitudes e.g.
1. Dont like your job? go get trained in something else - oh cant be stuffed but... i can watch TV all day.
2. I'm fat and want to loose weight - oh but im only eating KFC to treat myself, and yesterday it was only because i came home late oh and the day before was...
3. I have no money - oh but I have money for smokes, drink and gambling.
and obviously the one that applies to property (and any investment in general) - oh but I need a car, tv (yes but why brand new 4wd Forrester & a plasma) ill reduce my loan next year or invest next year.
The problem when addressing the issue of "housing afford-ability" is that we must resist the temptation to simplify the issue by blaming individuals for their own stupidity.
Take for example smoking, why ban it? We all know its wrong to smoke but we do anyways. Why have superannuation? we can all save a few dollars for later cant we?
Obviously whenever something is a miss or goes wrong individuals are ultimately to blame. This is why Rules and regulations are there to protect us... from ourselves.. and when things go as wrong as they are right now its because of bad or non-existent policy.
Give people the means and there will ALWAYS be those to take it up regardless of how obviously stupid it maybe.
It was only about 2 or so years ago when CBA was advertising using your house for security for a car? a holiday? i.e. it was the smart thing to do.. Which ofcourse it is, a home loan is cheaper than credit cards but.... credit cards have a relatively small limit for most whereas a house is usually large and hence a bigger chance of going overboard.
So yes I have little sympathy for individual cases especially when they have two brand new cars outside their 5 bedroom mcmansion which is on the brink of being repossessed. However on a macro level try to not refer to individual cases, I blame government for lack of engagement to prevent the situation from arising whereby "individuals" can be allowed to do such stupidity.
In short its a balancing act of two theories "free market" and "government regulation" but when it fails as badly as it has then thats a clear sign the market failed.
I am probably rambling now so ill surmise in saying on a macro level governments to blame but on an individual basis in most cases they only have themselves to blame....