How Big Government is Taking Your Power Away

This morning I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine that shed some light on just how anti-consumer, restrictive, separated-from-reality and you-are-too-stupid-to-make-your-own-choices that BG – Big Government – is becoming.

This friend of mine, Jeff, has been in the mortgage business for over twenty years.  He has gone through several up-and-down markets, including the late 80's and early 90's, when values tanked, as well as the late 90's through 2005, when everyone was separate from reality when it came to real estate.

With values where they are now – still not as low as they would have been, had everyone only had a house appreciate two to four percent a year instead of what they did – you would think buying real estate right now would be a piece of cake.

And you would be wrong.

Wrong because, "There is a New Sheriff in Town" and he and his deputies – many of who have never run a business, been responsible for payroll, had to hire and fire employees or lost sleep at night wondering where the next customer was going to come from – have put in place guidelines that almost make it impossible to buy a house.

Check this out – the real estate markets are still not rebounding, interest rates are being held low to encourage lending and banks were bailed out so that they could get bad debt off their books and begin to lend money again.

The whole idea behind a recession or depression isn't really about money – it is about the FLOW of money.

There is no less wealth or money in the world right now than there was in 2005 – it's just that money isn't moving like it was.  Everyone who has the money is sitting on it.

They pull it out of the markets, sell things they don't need, walk away from bad deals that they normally might have tried to ride out and literally stuff their money under a mattress.

So BG's "intervention" was supposed to free up money so that banks could lend again and get money moving…but then, they begin to write and put into place guidelines, committees, codes of conduct, layers of beuacracy and more that make it almost impossible for money to get moving!

Here's and example:  if you have bought a home or refinanced a loan before, you know that when you start the process, you have to get an appraisal to make sure your loan to value ratio – that's the value of your house compared to how much you want to borrow against that value – is in line.

Used to be you paid for your appraiser, he showed up, did the appraisal, ran your property against  other properties that sold in the area, called "comps" or comparables, and the submitted your appraisal to your lender.

The appraiser was an independent contractor, that had to get licensed, that typically charged anywhere from $250 to as much as $400 to $500, depending on the size of your home.

Once your appraisal was done, it was usually good for three to six months, which is plenty of time to get your deal done.

Not anymore.

Now, when your appraiser comes, you can't even talk to him.

You can't ask him questions, ask him about values, ask him anything.

Now, he is only getting half of his money, too.  Why?

Because appraisers are being forced to belong to appraisal companies.  Appraisal companies get 40% of the appraisal fee and hold another 10% back for guess what?

Yep – the fee they now have to pay the government -BG – who is regulating their practices.

It gets better.  There is also a "Homeowners Value Code of Conduct" that the appraisal company must enforce on their employees, and, because BG is regulating it, they have created a regulatory agency.

On top of that, lending guidelines are more restrictive than ever and changing (getting tougher) everyday.  If your deal gets kicked out (declined) for any reason, then you have to start the whole process over again-including paying for a brand-new appraisal, even though your first appraisal might only be ten days old.

So what is the result?  Appraisals have gotten more expensive, because there is now more overhead in fees and government involvement.  

Appraisers are now young and inexperienced because the talented ones that have been doing it forever can't make the money they need, so they are changing careers.

Lending requirements are so stringent that someone can have great credit, no debt and great cash flow – and then be told they have to put 20% to 40% down to buy.

Out here in Southern California, houses are $350,000 and up; so you mean to tell me that you are going to tell someone they have to come up with $70,000 to $100,000 down, just to get in?

Getting loans approved takes two to three times longer than they did – if they get done at all.

So what does this mean?  It means that, like the President said, "The recovery is going to be a long time coming."

Of course it is!  With this level of BG interference and trying to regulate commerce, it will be a miracle if there is a recovery at all.

The government – regardless of what administration – couldn't manage a bake sale in Toledo, much less regulate or manage an economy.

The government's job – if I remember the Founding Father's initial intentions – was to establish and maintain a military, keep the roads and travel lanes open and keep anyone from stepping on anyone else's toes.  The whole collecting taxes thing is in there, too.

That's it.

Now – BG is getting into everything.

And we are letting them.

We are giving our power away, just as if a bully was picking on us and we let them do it.

When you let someone take your power away, it is a sign that you don't respect yourself; you don't think you are worth standing up for, that you are worth being treated intelligently and as if you have a brain and can make your own decisions.

That is unacceptable.  You are worth it.  You deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.  You are smart enough to learn, grow and take care of yourself.

Your government is supposed to do your will – what you think is right for you country – not what THEY think is right for the country.

Keep your eyes and your mind open.  Don't give in to the hype and everything you read in the media (even though this very article is a form of media) and THINK.

Think for yourself, think for you family.  Think about what the government – YOUR government – is supposed to do versus what they are actually doing.  

If you don't, then you are surrendering control of you life and your destiny to someone other than you.

If you do that, then they get to choose what you can and can't do, can and can't have, what you do and don't need and more.

Where will it end?

It ends with you taking back your power.  Stand up for yourself.  If there is a bully somewhere in your life, stand up to it.  Don't let it fester and grow more powerful through your inaction.  If you don't stand up to a bully, they will get stronger and will not stop.

Take Back Your Power,

Sensei Harrison Huff

P.S. – Taking back your power is all what the course, "How to Be Bully Proof"  is all about.  Find out about it at Bully Proof Kids.