May 21, 2007
It's OK To Recycle An Old Joke
But they ought to get the punch line right.
(I suppose there are still a few people who haven't seen this joke, which is told about many
newspapers. If we learned that the world were to end tomorrow, what headline would the New
York Times run? "World to end tomorrow, women and minorities hardest hit".
The correct headline for the Seattle Times article would have been: "Women, minorities priced out of downtown
condos". Or something similar.
Incidentally, if the Seattle Times is really interested in finding out more about housing prices in
this area, I am immodest enough to suggest, again, that we learn from
Idaho, that we learn from areas that do not
have our housing hyperinflation. And I'll even give the reporters this hint: Our problems here
just might have something to do with the Growth Management Act.)
Posted by Jim Miller at May 21, 2007
03:21 PM | Email This
1. It is unlikely many Times reporters or Seattle councilmembers understand the basics of economics.
For them, prices are something to complain about, to attribute to malevolent right wing and big business forces, and to try to control by regulation, rather than an informational signal about the state of supply and demand for goods and services.
2. I thought that was a dumb headline, too. When all was said and read, women prefer single family residences on lots and not condos. They are cheaper, too.
3. But Swatter, that's just it. The whole purpose of the Growth Management Act is to give control of incoming population to the self-anointed goodthinkers. Heaven forbid that people who prefer single family residences should find some weaselly loophole allowing them to escape the mandatory rabbit hutches and inconvenient 'mass transportation' of Seattle.
4. Swatter missed the point that the percentage of women buying downtown condos is declining. That's probably due to prices which in turn are affected by regulation as Jim said, although surely it's also due to the fact that Seattle is more desirable than Idaho. But swatter's reasons can't explain why the percentage would be declining.
5. It wasn't my job, too. I mentioned that the article suggested women preferred the SFRs in Wallingford, Ballard, etc.
The article left the inference that those women 'buying' preferred to live outside the downtown.
Bruce, I do realize the point you were skirting- single women make less than single men for the same job, so they can't afford the million dollar plus condos.
And is, don't get me started on GMA. I still have my "NO GMA" buttons.
6. In related news The World is Coming to an End - women and minorities hardest hit.
7.
Man, Woman, Child or small Pet -- only a moron would buy into Seattle's corrupt real estate market.
Check this out:
http://boiseid.yahoo.idx.prujensen.com/details.aspx?firstrecord=0&searchtype=2&propertytype=1%2c2&searchminprice=0&searchmaxprice=200000&searchbedrooms=-1&searchbathrooms=-1&sort=5&sortacdc=desc&miles=-1&searchgeo=Boise%2c+ID
A 3 Bedroom house in Boise, Idaho for $200,000 bucks! Brand spanking new!
With sunshine and plenty of space to breathe!
8. When 70% of the population already owns a home, rising home prices and the wealth they represent are celebrated rather than scorned. Housing prices can't both be rising and be unafforable at the same time.