Well here we are, over 500 years since Columbus "sailed the ocean blue" and the goal to carve out a place of your own isn't just a dream, its a part of your birth right as an American. (For now we'll skip over the fact that I wasn't born in America thereby changing my presumed "birth-right":D).
In fact, to see to it that every American had an opportunity to own land, to "live the dream" as it were, the government went about looking for ways to make this "dream" a reality to more and more people. This might be a good time to say their intentions were good, but isn't that what you say about the guy who just keeps screwing up and can never get things right? "He means well." "He tries hard." These are just backhanded compliments, a thinly veiled way of saying "he can't do anything right".
So with the presumed intention of home ownership to "everyone who wants it" the government privatizes freddy mac and fannie may. Any controls those government agencies may have had to keep up confidences in government backed securities, was traded in for what, public funding to increase the asset base that would in turn lead to more loans? I guess. But at what cost, a failed financial system? An economy on the brink of a not so great depression, falling home prices, high inflation, and rising unemployment??
All I can say to that mess is "I GOT MINE, BABY!" I'm livin the dream!
Ruth and I moved into our first home on October 4th 2008. More than ten years after getting married. The house is a modest looking (much to my shagrin, I'm not going to lie. I really wanted a huge mansion type house with a 3 car garage and a par 4 for a front yard and a driving range for a back yard) ranch built in 1972 with about 1400 sq ft.
Growing up as a generation "X"er patience isn't my strong suite. I want everything my parent's have without the 25 years of hard work and sacrifice. But owning a house has given me a different perspective, a long-term perspective, I'd say about 30 years of perspective. Of course I want to update the kitchen and bathrooms add on out the back to create a master suite and create an outdoor living space; but much to my dismay I'm not made of money nor are any of the trees I own money trees. So those things will have to wait.
While sitting at night in my dark living room my cynical side takes over and I think to myself I'm the proud owner of 30 years of indentured servitude! Then I think about unforeseen repairs that are now my responsibility. I think about my backyard that looks like the surface of the moon and the potential liability it could create. Late at night I leave messages of panic for my insurance agent making sure I have enough liability coverage. (Just out of curiosity why does "the biggest asset you'll ever own have "liability" coverage, shouldn't it be asset coverage?)
But even as the fall sun sheds light on brilliantly colored trees it also casts out the shadows of my cynicism and shows me the "brilliant colors" of home ownership.
My kids will wake me in the morning by piling onto our bed. There we will play and wrestle and laugh knowing that the front of our bedroom wall isn't the back of our neighbor's bedroom wall. When I come home from work to see my kids playing in the yard that is "their" yard, where the outer limits are the limits of THEIR imagination. This last weekend we painted Lilly's room an obnoxious pink, but you know what? It's Lilly's room and she can do what SHE wants with it.
When I think about the American dream it's not really about owning a house or a yard but its about being able to put your roots down. It's about being able to provide for your family and try to give them a little of something they've given me so much of: HAPPINESS
Now that I think about it the pilgrims weren't looking for land, they were just looking for a place where they and their families could be happy.
If I were to venture a guess, that was probably the original "American Dream"
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