Brian Gongol
With home prices flat and home sales down, what's going to happen to the economy? After all, most Americans have most of their net worth tied up in home equity. But if that's not growing and interest rates start rising, Americans might actually start belt-tightening and spend a little less. But since consumer spending drives economic growth...well, you can see how this could get complicated.
We have related troubles as Washington continues to spend like there's no tomorrow. It's pretty predictable how this system works: People vote for politicians who promise them stuff, the politicians bring home the bacon, the government over-spends, and in turn a majority of Americans disapprove of both the White House and Congress, but incumbents are almost always re-elected...so they bring home more pork, the Federal government slips a little further into insolvency, and we go on getting the same-old same-old. Perhaps things would be at least a little different if Washington did less and we counted on the legislators in Des Moines to be accountable for a little more.
Meanwhile...Temperatures throughout North America are sticking up in the upper 70s and 80s even at night, from coast to coast. And it's not just here in the US: People are dying in Europe as a result of the heat.
Here's a modern-day hero: Shawn Hogan, a software millionaire who's fighting back against the MPAA. He was accused of downloading a Ben Stiller movie, and he says he already owned the flick. Settle for $2,500? He said no...and he has enough dough to fight back in the courts.