Does Politics Effect Real Estate Values?
It depends on if you are a Democrat, Republican, Independent, or Non-Partisans, and your personal mindset. During a political season, each side of the political spectrum attempts to paint the other party as the cause of all the problems, and articulate they have the solutions. This is particularly so in our current political season, as the declining economy has become the primary issue in the current political campaign. When things are bad in the economy, the political party in the White House usually gets the blame.
This was true when Jimmy Carter occupied the White House, and we had double digit unemployment, and interest rate approaching 18%, and it is true during our current political season, as President George Bush, and the Republican running for President, John McCain, have been blamed for all the current economic woes.
However it is my opinion neither party should be saddled with the blunt of the blame, collectively they share equally in our problems, given the partisanship and political infighting between our political parties. Our current Congress has been a "do-nothing" Congress. Yes our president receives credit for much of the successes and failures, but unfairly so. President Bill Clinton received credit for a good economy during his last term in office, however he had a Republican Congress, and was forced to enact Republican agenda. Conversely, George Bush during his last term had a Democratic Congress, and has been unable to enact much of what he had hoped to accomplish.
The current problem with the economic bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are good examples. Many Republicans sounded the warning bell alarm that Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac were in finical difficult, and endanger of economic failure. Political differences and infighting between the parties kept our congress from enacting laws and programs that would advert the current economic crisis.
A Democratic Congress and Republican Presidency serve as a system of "checks and balances" according to some peoples way of thinking, and we Americans seem to like to keep the White House and Congress in the hands of different political parties for this reason.
So who has the answers? Nigher party does in my opinion, our economy is a fast moving train, and unfortunately we do not have an engineer at the wheel driving that train. We have become a world economy, as what happens here in our country, effect people in other parts of the world, and there economies and economic problems effect us as well. Yes Congress, if they act together, and put aside partisanship, can do much to effect the economic situation, but they do not control it.
Real Estate Values, the ability of Buyers to borrow money, and other economic issues are an ever moving target. They go up and they go down, just like the stock market on Wall Street. People still have to Buy and Sell real estate, we still need places to live and raise our families, and it does not matter if a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent occupy the White House and Congress. I am convinced we as a people can survive them all, and Real Estate is still a good investment.
Does this mean we should not be political? No, much can be done to clean up our political system, and force our political system to enact laws to the betterment of our country and economic situation. One of the biggest things we as a nation could do is rewrite and simplify our tax code.
Are we to remain a "Free Market Society" that is driven by the economic principles of "Supply and Demand", or are we going to evolve into a more Socialistic or Communist society and economy? This is the only road I see we as a nation can possibly travel down that can possibly have a lasting effect on real estate values.
Go Vote, it is your obligation as a Home Owner, and American.