The Mansion: A Subprime Parable By Michael Lewis

Poverty, people are born into it. People can sink into its grasp, or people can escape. But it’s a hard journey. As for Kevin Powells mother growing up in the south she never saw money, for “at the age of eight in a field picking someone else’s cotton”. (p. 86) Being in poverty is based out financial needs, being poor is one thing. Poverty is just below that, for you barley have enough to get by and sometimes you are places in a setting that could risk health or safety.

For many years, the idea that ones’ home being the largest investment was said as a complete sentence when in fact, it was only an incomplete sentence. Any duly licensed financial planner would finish that sentence by saying all investments are subject to market conditions, the value that investment could increase or decrease and other similar cautionary statements that their attorneys wrote to protect them. The American public only heard that their home was the largest investment and had never experienced, nor had their parents seen the value of their personal homes drop like they did in the past few years. They had never experienced the financial pain and although only a few years have passed, many have forgotten and are ready to jump right back into homeownership.

Too many Americans have fallen victim to the crisis that has become the norm for our citizens these days. Lenders no longer want to work with individuals who have gone through the foreclosure process and for many it is not only their homes they lose. Some have lost their jobs and/or families, others fall into a deep depression and worst of all some have taken their own lives.

The housing crisis of the late 2000s rocked the economy and changed the landscape of the real estate business for years to come. Decades of people purchasing houses unfordable houses and properties with lenient loans policies led to a collective housing bubble. When the banking system faltered and the economy wilted, interest rates were raised, mortgages increased, and people lost their jobs amidst the chaos. This all culminated in tens of thousands of American losing their houses to foreclosures and short sales, as they could no longer afford the mortgage payments on their homes. The United States entered a recession and homeownership no longer appeared to be a feasible goal as many questioned whether the country could continue to support a middle-class. Former home owners became renters and in some cases homeless as the American Dream was delayed with no foreseeable return. While the future of the economy looked bleak, conditions gradually improved. American citizens regained their jobs, the United States government bailed out the banking industry, and regulations were put in place to deter such events as the mortgage crash from ever taking place again. The path to homeowner ship has been forever altered, as loans in general are now more difficult to acquire and can be accompanied by a substantial down payment.

In today's society, having the biggest and best products is valued above everything else. From new technology, to homes, and even automobiles -nothing is off limits to our ever-growing expectations. This growing trend of owning bigger and better things without being satisfied is more apparent in today’s society than ever before, and it doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon. The need to have the newest products is“stuffing us up” and creates a problem for future generations. The article “Swollen Expectations”, written by John De Graaf, David Wann, and Thomas H. Naylor, provides some interesting insight into the standard of living in past generations. I also conducted an interview with my father, asking him a series of questions about life when he was younger, material possessions, and how he has seen it all evolve throughout the years.

In this excerpt, it is like Jeannette and Rex are sitting in the wreckage after a storm. It’s as if they are having a final moment of clarity about the life Rex gave her. It’s interesting to see them finally interact with all their cards on the table, they aren’t playing any games anymore, they aren’t entertaining any of their far out ideas of their Glass Castle, they are simply being honest and direct and saying their last goodbyes, acknowledging things they never had before. When Jeannette says, “This stuff could grow on you.” in regards to the vodka and Rex answers, “Don’t let it.” Rex is acknowledging a large factor in the messed up life that his children had was because of his drinking and how his drinking ruined a lot of good prospects and opportunities the family could have had.

There always will be a production of the upgrade of an item, which increases the urge in an individual to get that product. It is sad that we let this disease of the “affluenza” continue to creep into our lives and homes.

These days we are surrounded by the latest technology: smartphones, hybrid automobiles, and robots that clean your floors. Companies are constantly finding ways to capture your attention; to keep upgrading and spending endless amounts of money on items that you don’t need. In “Honestly–You Shouldn’t Have” by Anna Quindlen, the reoccurring theme of materialisticness is mentioned and is applied to every American, starting from the Industrial Revolution up until now. In reality, having these upgraded objects and over expensive clothing represent how socially insecure they are. They simply cannot live looking poor or old fashioned, they need to show others that they are not bottom feeders. People see what they have and know there is a better model

Unfortunately, if we are constantly comparing ourselves to celebrities and other people we will never learn to appreciate what we have. Delia Ephron, a writer for the New York Times, writes her stance on having it all in an article entitled “You Can’t Have It All, but You Can Have Cake”. In the article she describes how social media and society as a whole have provided this unattainable image of what it means to have it all. You have to have a nice car, fancy house, perfect children, high-status job… the list goes on and on. This “depressingly American” notion assumes that having it all is the same for everyone, that this version of life is desired by all; however,

People should always have the best of the best regardless of our financial status, correct? With this in mind. Consequently, North Americans are too materialistic. Many people in North America feel the need to have a nice, expensive car to commute every day. When in fact, many people put themselves in difficult financial situations in order to make payments for a luxury vehicle, when they could have purchased a car that is more affordable for their budget. Besides having a nice car, North Americans will discard of perfectly functioning items to have a reason to purchase the newest model. Specifically, in this day and age, cellphones are the most important thing to have. Every year a new model of a cellphone

Steinbeck shows In Of Mice and Men that the character George and Lennie are penniless. For example, it says ‘’Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place ‘’This shows us that they are poor because they work on the farm and George says that we don 't have any families or a place to live. This link to the Great Depression in America because people were in poverty and unemployment, so it is very difficult to get money. Similarly, in Our Day Out we know the children are very poor. For example, it says ‘’Ronny, the

Michael Lewis exposes the truth about the American real estate problem. Millions of American have bought homes they cannot pay for it. Banks have lent out mortgages that people cannot pay it. Propagandists have promised that real estate value will always rise. Some days it seems that partial of the nation is financially under water. Michael Lewis wrote this article to acknowledge the consequence of the horrific real estate crash, and the financial consequences that will get to the middle classes of people.

For the past several years, the housing market has been mutually beneficial for both buyer and seller. The cost of real estate has risen but has maintained or gained value. People who have owned their home for quite awhile are seeing astronomical amounts of money to be made off the sale of their home, and so the market has been inundated with housing for sale. It leads us to wonder whether this boom is heading for the crash. Is now still a good time to buy? If so, what type of property will continue to gain value? Will new buyers end up stuck in their home as the value drops? As a homeowner, I am nervous about the state of the real estate market. This is not the house my family wants to call its home forever, but could we get stuck here? Yes, we could. If the housing market drops, then so will the amount of money we could potentially make off the sale of this house. If it drops enough then it would be possible to end up owing money upon the sale. Unless you are independently wealthy, you hope to make money off the sale of the home to help finance the purchase of the next home. Real estate agents will tell you that now is still a good time to buy. While it is speculated that the market will drop within the next year or two, if you are willing to sit on your new purchase for several years, an upswing will occur again. There is never any guarantee that you will recoup the money paid for and put into a home. If you intend to purchase a home soon, it would be a good idea to

The current real estate crisis that America finds itself in is one of the greatest challenges America has ever faced. America’s troubles are further compounded by increasing unemployment of American citizens and environmental problems like global warming. Solving any one of these problems would be a Herculean task, yet they must each be addressed in order to protect American families from disaster. However, it is possible to find a solution to the problems of the real estate crisis that can also be used to improve the problems of the unemployment and environmental destruction. The first part of the solution involves the United States government purchasing the homes that have been foreclosed and using them to offer temporary housing to

​Consequently, a man who is “poor” in material possessions many times is “rich” in character, which is spiritually defined as the nine fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.  Having friends and family members who grew up poor and who worked hard to survive to obtain material possessions, their character was strengthened or made “rich” as a result of it. They had to do the jobs that many rich people would never do, such as being a maid, construction worker, janitor and many more domestic type jobs. Although they differ in terms of definition, being “rich” and being “poor” in character can be one of the same as “poor” in spirit or humble.  For example, my great grandmother was an Indian who was very poor, but you never would have known it because she was humble, kind, loving and a peaceful woman who always shared everything she had.