Date: Fri, 15 Sep 1995 11:14:44 -0700 (PDT) From: Howard Johnson Subject: Re: KZPG-US-Front: Press release To: PROGRESSIVE POPULATION NETWORK In-Reply-To: On Thu, 14 Sep 1995, Doug Henwood wrote: > Housing in the US was more affordable decades ago, when growth was > faster. Correct, BUT your argument only goes to prove my point because the population DENSITY (not growth - read my press release again) was not as great then. The relationship between growth and density is time. As you say "decades" have passed. The density is greater now. > One problem with housing affordability in the US is that housing > inflation is national policy - an increase in "home" prices is > supposed to be good. You could also say that our "national policy" is that houses should be cheap and wages high so people can afford homes. So this argument cuts both ways. Further you will have to show that what you call the national policy of housing inflation varies with population density to prove your point. I think a long shot at best. I want you to think about this a minute before you reply. I assume you are an educated person and so have a basic understanding of logic. If A correlates with B, then to show that the reason A correlates to B is because A is dependent on C means you must be able to show that C correlates to B as well. (And don't just tell me this is "claptrap" -your word-. Reality is reality regardless of your emotions.) > A house is an investment vehicle - treated in the US national income > accounts as a business; owner-occupiers are treated as paying imputed > rent to themselves. Mortgage debt has increased much more rapidly than > underlying value, which inflates prices. The only way you could prove that mortgage inflation is the culprit would be to show that it correlates with population density. While I'm sure it does to some small measure, the question is does it correlate to a strong measure? I'll keep an open mind, but just not open on both ends. Best Regards, Howard Johnson 408-255-2422 home/work ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm sharing an account with my friend Alan Heimlich, so my return address will be `From: Howard Johnson '. (You can mail to me at Howard@iti.com or reply to me at heimlich@iti.com and I'll get it either way.)