The Dow-Jones stock market index topped 14,000 a couple of days ago, setting a new record for the stock market. The talking heads on the news were all gushing about it, saying it was a sign of our "great" economy. I have to wonder whether these people ever took an economics class.
The stock market is not a real indicator of how the economy is doing. It is simply a gambling game played by the rich. If you really want to know how the economy is doing, a much better indicator is housing -- and that is painting a much different picture.
Housing sales are slumping all across the country. Even worse, foreclosures are close to their all-time highs set in the 80's -- the last time the real estate bubble burst. In Tarrant county, foreclosures scheduled for auction in August have reach 1,348 (as compared to only 897 last August). It is the first time since the 1980's that foreclosures topped 1,300 in Tarrant county.
In the Metroplex as a whole (Dallas, Tarrant, Denton and Collin counties), this months foreclosures sit at 3,870, a 31% increase over this time last year. It wouldn't surprise me if the figures across Texas and the nation were very similar to the Metroplex figures.
The economy may be great for the corporations and the rich. After all, those are the people the Republicans have been looking out for since they came to power. But there are a lot of middle and working-class people in our country that are hurting. Just another reason why we need to elect a lot more Democrats next year.
Amarillo area is not much better. Deliquencies by State. Notice the big square right in the middle of the panhandle.
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