Home prices are rising!!!

At least if you live in the greater Washington DC area. That's right, Washington DC metro. According to a September report by Standard & Poors dated Sept. 27, 2011 (http://www.standardandpoors.com/indices/sp-case-shiller-home-price-indices/en/us/?indexId=spusa-cashpidff--p-us----)  , home prices in DC rose an average of 4.9% year over year. And get this, of the 20 major metro areas; DC was the only one that rose. No other metro area had a price increase year over year. Surprising? If it is, it shouldn’t be. Washington has been on a construction boom throughout the recession. Don’t think for a minute that a $1.3 trillion federal annual budget deficit doesn’t mostly stay in DC. Does anybody see how obvious this simple fact highlights the problems we face in getting out of the recession? The only place in the US where there are home price increases is in DC.  And of course, in order for that to happen, unemployment in DC must also drop. Employed people buy houses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://bls/web/metro/laulrgma.htm), of 49 metro areas, the greater DC area has the second lowest unemployment rate in the country at 6.1% far below the national average of 9.1%. Okay so maybe that’s good news. After all aren’t we supposed to be creating jobs as the medicine to get us out of the recession? The answer is yes. But DC jobs? Really? Does anyone outside of the beltway really believe that creating jobs in DC resulting in, among other benefits to DC elites, rising housing prices in DC is good for the country? The only people that think it is good are the same people that are creating these bureaucratic big government jobs that result in self-serving increasing wages and rising property values. And why doesn’t’ the media jump all over these kinds of outrages? We all know the answer to that one. Don’t we? Anyway someday when the solutions to the economic malaise are more than “big government”, you will see your home values rise and unemployment drop where you live. Until then, only the ones self-empowered with the responsibility of solving our economic problems will benefit. TO BE CLEAR: the only jobs program that is working is jobs in DC. And if you live there, you get the added benefit of watching your home values rise. For the rest of us, we sit around on the sidelines.