Housing « Anne Michaud

Archive for the ‘Housing’ Category

Time for a ‘living wage’ for the middle class?

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

With millions out of work, complaints about the decline in middle-class wages may seem misplaced. But without some shoring up, the middle class will remain dispirited — and our economy, which is 70 percent dependent on consumer spending, will remain in the dumper.

It may be that there’s a role for government to play in buttressing these eroding wages, which result not only in a declining standard of living, but also in a family life so pressure-filled that it leads to its own problems: angry homes, fast-food diets, dependence on alcohol and drugs.

Calling for any sort of government role during these tea party times can raise charges of socialism. But the idea of a wage that supports some minimum standard of living — shelter, clothing, food — has been broached on and off for more than a century. (more…)

Tags: consumerism, Family, foreclosure, job loss, Layoff culture, Middle Class, Panic, parenting, social effects, Unemployment, Work-life balance
Posted in 401(k), Budget, Children, College savings, Consumer Confidence, Culture, Economy, Education, Family, Health care, Housing, Layoff culture, Long Island life, Middle Class, Panic, Public Health, Social problems, Unemployment, job churn | Comments Off

Mortgage schemers’ luck runs out

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

First published in Newsday

Mortgage fraud arrests have begun showing up with great regularity on Long Island. Fourteen people were charged last week with stealing $58 million in a fraud ring that involved more than 100 homes. Another 14, in a separate case brought by the Nassau County district attorney, are facing trial in October.

And there are reports of arranged sales on the rise — cases where a homeowner falsifies a sale, effectively forcing the bank to reduce the mortgage on a home. That may sound like justice for a home that’s lost value, but it’s illegal, and it unfairly spreads the loss to the bank’s other customers.

Why all this fraud in the news? Well, it turns out that Long Island is a hotbed for such schemes. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network says that Nassau had the fifth-highest number of suspicious reports of mortgage fraud per capita, among counties nationwide, in the third quarter of last year.

It’s fascinating how people can think of different ways to make a quick, illegal buck. The convenience store robbery just doesn’t compare for intrigue — where’s the imagination? (more…)

Tags: Andrew Cuomo, banking meltdown, foreclosure, New York, suburbs
Posted in Andrew Cuomo, Economy, Housing, Long Island life, New York | Comments Off

Home-sharing’s time returns

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

First published in Newsday

Pushed along by those twins of the Great Recession — unemployment and foreclosure — America may be moving back under the multigenerational roof.

At a recent reunion of high school friends, I talked to one who had returned to her mother’s house, along with her brother and sister. The whole family was back together again, this time with grandchildren added to the mix. It was a disaster. The siblings were fighting as much as they had in high school.

Another friend’s son was enlisting in the Army to avoid moving back into her home after graduation. The Census Bureau says that 54 million Americans were living in multigenerational families in 2010, up from 49 million two years earlier. That’s the highest count since 1968.

Of course, it’s nothing new for large extended families to live under one roof. In many parts of the world, it’s the norm. In this country, Asians and Hispanics have higher rates of multigenerational living, perhaps reflecting greater cultural acceptance.

But for the most part, since the 1950s, the American middle class has assumed that one is up and out at 18. Each nuclear family, according to this standard, had its own home.

And that attitude can make moving back in together — or “doubling up” in demographers’ terms — feel like a step backward. It can be a sign of financial desperation, a response to unemployment, lack of child care or health care, or affordable rents. (more…)

Tags: banking meltdown, Family, foreclosure, job loss, New York, social effects, suburbs, Unemployment
Posted in Economy, Family, Housing, Long Island life, Middle Class, New York, Older workers, Retirees, Retirement, Social problems, Unemployment | Comments Off

Economy makes more kids homeless

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

Originally published in Newsday

Every year as the cold weather arrives, the U.S. Conference of Mayors conducts a survey of who’s living in homeless shelters. This year, it uncovered a troubling statistic: a 9 percent increase in the number of families who are homeless.

These numbers have been increasing – the Department of Housing and Urban Development notes a 30 percent growth since 2007 – and are expected to bump up again next year.

Many of these families, remarkably, continue to function, even as the basic need for shelter is threatened or removed entirely. Wendell Chu, the school superintendent in East Islip, says that more students are showing up for class with their homes facing foreclosure. Many more qualify for free and reduced-price lunch – another measure of families in distress.

“This creates stress for these kids,” he says. “It affects how kids come to school, their readiness to learn.” (more…)

Tags: Family, foreclosure, job loss, Layoff culture, Middle Class, New York, parenting, social effects, Unemployment, Youth
Posted in Children, Economy, Family, Housing, New York, Social problems, Youth | No Comments »