Wasting Time With Alex

Surprise! Home sales drop drastically..

In another example of why Keynesian economics don’t work worth shit in the long term, we find out that, just like what happened with the “Cash for Clunkers” program, there was a drastic drop in home sales after the $8,000 tax credit expired.

WASHINGTON (AP)—Sales of previously occupied homes took the largest monthly drop in more than 40 years last month, sinking more dramatically than expected after lawmakers gave buyers additional time to use a tax credit. The report reflects a sharp drop in demand after buyers stopped scrambling to qualify for a tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time homeowners. It had been due to expire on Nov. 30. But Congress extended the deadline until April 30 and expanded it with a new $6,500 credit for existing homeowners who move.

“It’s ‘exit stage left’ for first-time homebuyers,” wrote Guy LeBas, an analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott. December’s sales fell 16.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million, from an unchanged pace of 6.54 million in November, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. Sales had been expected to fall by about 10 percent, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

What is surprising to me is the media’s and left’s ability to connect the dots and realize this result was a given. Did they miss the massive slump that car manufacturers are now in after the “Cash for Clunkers” program ended? I know they tried to spin that story too, and that they are no longer reporting on that continued slump, but the writing was easy to see. Basic human nature 101, people. While there was an incentive to behave a certain way, people did it. Once that incentive went away, behavior changed. At the risk of being repetitive, that’s human nature. Why do the collectivists have such a hard time with this concept? Reward people for a certain behavior, or punish them for not doing it, and people will conform. The left knows this. That’s why they want gas to be over $4 a gallon and all energy to be expensive. When we have less freedom to move around, they can control us better.

Anyway, the best piece of this moronic article?

“We do not believe it is fair to consider this a double dip in the housing market,” Michelle Meyer, an economist with Barclays Capital, wrote last week. “The recovery is still under way, but hitting some bumps in the road.”

Yeah, sure! Except for the people without jobs. The people with jobs that still can’t make ends meet, and soon will have less income or purchase power due to a bunch of corrupt and stupid collectivist politicians. And the private sector in general. Otherwise, things are looking good....