BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

Reports out today indicate that foreclosures and inflation are rising. 

Home foreclosure filings surged 57 percent in the 12 month-period ended in March and bank repossessions soared 129 percent from a year ago, as homeowners struggled to make mortgage payments, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said on Tuesday.

For the month of March, foreclosure filings, default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions rose 5 percent, led by Nevada, California and Florida, RealtyTrac said.

The rise in March to filings on a total of 234,685 properties followed a 4 percent decline in February, RealtyTrac reported.

RealtyTrac said the peak has yet to be reached.

And what about inflation?

Inflation at the wholesale level soared in March at nearly triple the rate that had been expected as the costs of energy and food both climbed rapidly.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that wholesale prices rose by 1.1% last month, the second largest increase in the past 33 years, exceeded only by a 2.6% rise last November. Analysts had been expecting a much more moderate 0.4 % rise in wholesale prices for the month.

Core inflation, which excludes energy and food, was better behaved last month, rising by just 0.2%, down from a worrisome 0.5% rise in February.

For my simple mind, these figures are overwhelming.  To think that across our country during March 234, 685 properties were facing foreclosure is astonishing.  Of course, some of the properties are probably investment properties or second homes.  But, assume for a moment that one person is displaced for each foreclosure… just one.  That’s almost a quarter million people who are facing being without a place to live… in one month.  These people are not all adults.  These are families with children. 

My question is where do they go?  Without a credit score that shows a person pays his bills on time, it is virtually impossible to rent a house or an apartment.  So, where do they go?  Let’s hope they have welcoming families.

The inflation information is as critical.  It is reported that “core inflation, which excludes energy and food, was better behaved last month.”  So much for well behaved inflation rates.  Leaving out energy and food from the well behaved statistics gives me little comfort. 

What does all this mean across the board?  Simply put, America is facing a growing number of homeless and hungry citizens.  Maybe that’s overplaying the hand you may say.  Maybe we should blame all those borrowers who bought more than they could afford.  Maybe we should blame those children who eat too much. 

While Congress is busy working on the economic crisis, it seems they are working from the top down.  Families are being allowed to become a statistic, a growing number with no faces attached.  And, like those who have been killed in Iraq we all sit around talking about how sad the situation is.  In a world of numbers, we have lost sight of the individual, the person who has paid the price for our national failures.  The country is focusing on the number of empty houses on a block.  But, who is focusing on the empty people who have lost everything?