Why We Have A Housing Crisis

So I have been doing some thinking (not a lot), and had a few experiences while Jonathan and I have been trying to buy a house. Here are some things I've learned.

1. The government insures loans for first-time home buyers. These loans are known as FHA loans. Apparently you can't get one for a condo or a townhome. In other words, the government does not encourage people to buy smaller or cheaper places.

2. When I said you "can't" get an FHA loan for a condo or a townhouse, what I actually meant was you can't get one unless the condo/townhouse is on an approved list. What is this approved list? I don't know. It's difficult to find.

3. The list is difficult to find because the search functionality on the FHA website has office hours. Seriously. "Message: Your request could not be processed at this time. Please try again later.
Normal hours of operation are from 8 am to 9 pm Eastern time Monday through Friday. The time is now 12:21 AM " So forget abouttrying to find a home on the weekend. Do that stuff while you're at work (especially if you live in Hawaii or Alaska).

4. The same people who think that only single-family homes are worth subsidizing and think that websites can't run around the clock are the people in charge of the federal loan and mortgage assistance programs.

5. There is a very good reason we are in a housing crisis.

Sincerity

I was driving home the other day when I heard the best radio ad ever. Seriously. It started by calling out most ads for memory enhancement products as shams.

"I'm sick of hearing ads that try to sucker you into buying their memory enhancer with flim-flam and fast talking. They talk about clinical trials, but what does that even mean? They say you can try it for free, but we all know there's no such thing as a free lunch."

It moved on to use flim-flam and slow talking to try to convince you to buy their memory enhancer.

"Memory Fixer Upper [not its real name] was developed by a neuroscientist! It has been proven in large studies to improve memory in regular folks. And you can get a risk free 30 day trial!"

I'm so glad I've found the honest memory enhancement seller. Now I'll be safe from all those quacks out there.

Sleep Talk

Or, two vignettes from the life of Jonathan and Rachel

Jonathan (extremely agitated): What are you doing?! The children are more important than the dog! Everyone knows this!
Me: We don't have children or a dog.
Jonathan: Oh. We're good then. (Rolls over and goes back to sleep.)

~

Jonathan: OK, you go fight the aliens now.
Me: You don't make any sense.
Jonathan: Who fights the aliens?
Me: Not me.
Jonathan: Yes, you.