Why Housing and the American Dream are Complete Scams

Fellow renters, you'll love this clip.

James Altucher of Formula Capital rants about the scam that is home ownership in America.

As a renter myself (a renter in California, no less!), I ate this clip up. I still remember feeling REALLY dumb in '03-'05 when everyone was buying property that "never went down" - at least not in Northern California.

Now with unofficial unemployment in Sacramento County pushing 17%, and home prices off their peaks by 50%, the common wisdom has changed a bit!

Still, I don't think we've hit bottom - not as long as we're still in the early stages of a Depression. I'm only interested in buying property if it's for $0.10 or $0.20 on the dollar - which I think there's a chance we could see, if we get the complete fallout that Bob Prechter & Co are calling for.

Further recommended reading:

• An idiotic explanation of inflation from a dumbass real estate agent
• Five contrarian real estate indicators from the same superstar

137 Pages of Detroit Foreclosure Listings!

Looking for a cheap house in the Detroit area? You've got some options!

Washington Post Cartoon - Financial Ponzi Scheme

Agora Financial: US Housing Inventory

Can you spot the trend?

Donald Coxe: Cautious About Equities, Believes Interventions are Inflationary

Legendary investor Donald Coxe is one I follow closely. I would highly recommend his latest conference call where he discusses the global economic environment, and comments on potential ramifications of the government's Freddie/Fannie interventions.

He also has a fantastic Canadian accent that really adds to the fun.

My notes from the call:

• Financial system is still under stress and undercapitalized
• Remains cautious about overall equity exposure
• Believes the gov't interventions are highly inflationary
• Cautions against confusing deflation with falling asset prices (believes Japan's deflationary recession was an exception to the norm)
  
• Bullish on commodities...provided we do not have a deep global recession

Also check out this summary of Donald Coxe's thoughts.

Jim Rogers Video: Fannie/Freddie Bailout is Socialism for the Rich

US Home Prices: Look Out Below!

Geronimo! Gotta admit that, as a renter in an overpriced market, this tickles me just a little bit.

Thank you Agora for this fine chart in the 5 Min Forecast.