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Friday, July 26, 2002 |
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News: Housing prices continue to rise. Is it a housing "bubble" that will blow up like the stock market? -- Comment: I don't think so, because you can live in a house and you can't live in your stock purchases. Plus, most people buy a home for housing, not as a speculative investment. There are huge tax incentives to owning a house, such as the federal tax deductibility of interest and property taxes. And in Michigan, your "homestead" gets a big property tax break. Of course, you can always pay more for a house than you can afford to pay back. There is still a serious shortage of affordable housing. I found that out when I tried to find a place for my brother-in-law and his family to live. And as one of my brothers has noted, $100,000 in mid-Michigan will barely buy you a basement. From my days on the township planning commission, I know that local government officials contribute to the high cost of housing by zoning and development preferences. All local towns want expensive, high class development, not affordable housing. So, they enact subdivision requirements that mean developers are better off building subdivisions of expensive house, not cheap ones. News: Kroger's tests fingerprint system to pay for your groceries: Comment: Seems like a good plan and no less intrusive to privacy than tracking your credit card purchases. Plus, many places that take checks already require a fingerprint on the back. I'd like a system where I can walk into a store, take what I need and get billed automatically to my credit card when I walk out the doors. No cashiers at all. I think that we're getting closer to that, thanks to inexpensive printable computer chips that are just hitting the market. Better than bar codes, they stick on the sides of boxes and packages just like labels. Click here to see current comments and add your own. 7:05:21 PM 
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