Only 9 percent of Americans younger than 30 have a “very positive” view of capitalism, according to a new CBS/YouGov poll.
That shows a stark generation between Generation Z and older generations.
The data arrives amid a surge in democratic socialist victories across the U.S. — and not just in progressive corners of the country. Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon (D) on Tuesday beat out the more moderate Alex Vindman (D) in the Democratic Senate primary in Florida, a state known for its sunshine, not socialism.
A problem here is: how many people with 20+ years on their mortgage are suddenly owing more than the house is worth? If my house’s value were to drop by half tomorrow, I’d be stuck and unable to move because I would still need to pay as much as the previous values in order to move somewhere else.
I don’t know how we fix that, but I don’t think it’s an insurmountable barrier to making housing affordable.
That is something people focus a lot on, but far more important is: can you afford to pay it? As long as the monthly payment doesn’t change, the value of my house doesn’t affect me at all. The problem comes when banks suddenly want to foreclose homes because it’s underwater for reasons that the owner can’t control.
Would you continue to pay $4000/month for a home when identical houses are available for $2000/month?
Banks don’t forclose houses because they’re underwater. Banks forclose houses because the owners realize they’re underwater and they stop making $4000/month mortgage payments on their house that is only worth $2000/month.
I can’t just switch to a cheaper house and pay less if selling my current one doesn’t pay off my mortgage. I’d still be stuck with the same debt, that I took on voluntarily and could afford to pay when I did. As long as that situation doesn’t change, nothing for me has to change.
I don’t think anyone simply stops paying their mortgage just because the value of their house drops. They stop paying because they can’t afford it. The 2008 crisis was because bad, predatory mortgages being pushed onto people who couldn’t afford them (and the mortgager then offloading that risk so unsuspecting investors will bear the risk of the predictable default).