Kenmore Undressed

Reflections of a Blogger and Realtor on Election Week

We elected a new President on Tuesday. It sounds so simple, yet, it’s the single most important right we have in America. This week brought about a huge shift in our awareness as a nation and as a people. Unless you’re a dead stone, it’s impossible to ignore the renewed sense of connection with our culture and politics. For the first time in many years a sense of hope pushed aside the angst and uncertainty that has permeated our society in the midst of war, financial collapse and indifference. And yet, you and I both know that we face huge challenges in the coming years.

My industry, which is at the heart of the financial crisis, has suffered greatly this last year. Many of my colleagues have left the real estate business. Several have had to file for bankruptcy. There’s been a lot of hurt. Property values have eroded and many families are living with a sense of anxiety that they could loose their homes. This is the dark side of our current events. My most sincere hope is that the new leadership of this great country has the courage and resilience to bring us together to accomplish extraordinary things.

And one final thought: During my recent trip to Italy, my cousins were very curious about our election in the US. “Who are you going to vote for?” “Do you think a black man can win the election?” They seemed more interested in our election than many Americans I know.  Then one night, after a particularly delicious meal, we had a little debate over the candidates. Some felt that John McCain was a good man but that he represented the current administration (they are not fond of Mr. Bush). Others hoped that Barak Obama would win. Then one of my relatives said  if Barak Obama became President, it would mean so much to Italians. It would mean that the American dream is true. It would mean that all the struggles over race were worth it. It would mean that American was truly unique. Frankly, I wondered why they would care so much. I mean, how many Americans really follow Italian or Eurpoean politics? Here’s the point: WHAT WE DO HERE, IN AMERICA, IS IMPORTANT. IT MATTERS. We are looked-upon as a great nation. Our trajectory affects the world. Our example inspires and, sometimes, angers the rest of the world. This week made me reflect deeply about who we are and I have to say that I’m proud that we rejected the cynicism, avarice and narcissism that has gripped our leaders for so long now. America is about renewal, it’s about re-invention and, most of all, it’s about creating a better future. Let’s be the change we hope for. Let’s live it. Let’s make it happen. YES WE CAN!

Founding Fathers Pic by INeedCoffee    Lighthouse pic by RebelBlueAngle  Barak pic by blvsboy

Mr. Freeze the Financial Curmudgeon: Getting Spanked by “The Invisible Hand”

I, MR. FREEZE, AM REALLY P…….ED OFF! I HATE BEING LIED TO. I HATE PROPAGANDA. I HATE LIARS, THIEVES, AND HALF-TRUTHS. MR. FREEZE IS SICK AND TIRED OF LISTENING TO THE “VIRTUES” OF THE FREE MARKET AND HOW IT WILL “REGULATE ITSELF”…….WOULD THE WEALTHY FINANCIAL CLASS QUIT SAYING THIS? IT JUST ISN’T TRUE. MR. FREEZE SAYS SHUT UP. MR. FREEZE HATES BEING SPANKED BY THE INVISIBLE HAND.Until now, I, Mr. Freeze the Financial Curmudgeon have been silent on the the Financial/Credit Crisis, a crisis that has literally gripped the world economy by the throat. It threatens our way of life. It has destroyed our credibility in world markets and our confidence in our own institutions. It has tanked the real estate market. It has made our retirement nest eggs dwindle to the size of apple seeds. What makes Mr. Freeze more angry than anything is the fact that  NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR THE TRUTH: Unregulated American Capitalism has failed! Those of you who believe that the free market can do no wrong need only look at your dwindling wealth, your childrens’ shrinking college fund and the number of zeros in the $700 Billion rich man’s bailout (oh….I’m sorry, rescue!). 

The High Priest of Capitalism himself, Alan Greenspan, admitted as much before Congress this week. Swallowing his pseudo-naive Libertarian pride, the exchange went like this:

Congressman Henry Waxman asked: “Do you feel that your ideology pushed you to make decisions that you wish you had not made?”

Mr. Greenspan: “Yes, I’ve found a flaw. I don’t know how significant or permanent it is. But I’ve been very distressed by that fact.”

Mr. Greenspan, who was without a doubt the most powerful man in the world said the following:”Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholder’s equity — myself especially are in a state of shocked disbelief.”

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I’m not buying it. For the last 30 years the wealthy special interests who run this country have convinced “Joe the Plumber” (AKA Mr. I-never-paid-attention-in-class) that government was the problem and that if business made more money with fewer taxes and no regulations, wealth would trickle down to the “little people.” Life would be grand. Well, my friends, Mr. Freeze has more bad news: wealth has been spread around (redistributed), but not how you think:

“The mega-rich of today are as wealthy as any Americans have been at any time in our history, arguably richer. In 2004, a household in the top 1 percent of incomes pulled in an annual average of $940,000. That’s just the rich. If you wanted to be among the mega-rich (the top tenth of that 1 percent) in 2004, you had to earn an average of $4.5 million. to be filthy rich, a true Midas in the top one-hundredth of the top 1 percent, you needed $20 million a year. That’s $385,000 a week.”

“From 1990 to 2004, real income increased just 2 percent for Americans below the top 10 percent of earners. But in that same time, the real income increased 57 percent for the top 1 percent and 112 percent for the top 0.01 percent. To put it in wider perspective, economists Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez found that the top 10 percent of earners in 2004 made 42.9 percent of everything that Americans earned. The top 1 percent alone gobbled up 16.2 percent of total income. The distribution of wealth and income has not been so out of whack since the 1920’s, if then.”  (p.222 Why We Hate Us by Dick Meyer) 

My friends, Mr. Freeze feels your pain. Mr. Freeze would like to make it all better, but Mr. Freeze knows that many of you can’t believe that it wasn’t government that was picking our pockets. No, no, no, it was the greed and corruption of investors and speculators and their influence over politicians. Ultimately, deregulation let the criminals do whatever they wanted. Before Mr. Freeze goes to bed tonight and cries himself to sleep, Mr. Freeze would like to share a video from tonight’s 60 Minutes that explains why unregulated human nature and the free market” are a deadly combination. Just click on the picture below.

Mt. Rainier over Lake Washington

Day Two Hundred and Eighty Four - Mt. Rainier over Lake Washington

Originally uploaded by Walkabout Wolf

We have had spectacular weather for the last several days in the Seattle area. It has been crisp, colorful and sunny. In fact, after having lived here for 22 years, this has been an Autumn to remember. One of the most incredible things about living in the Seattle area is Mt. Rainier which dominates the southern sky on a clear day. For those of you who haven’t visited Seattle, I thought this picture would give you a sense of how huge the mountain is. This pictures was taken from the I-90 floating bridge, which lies in the middle of Lake Washington. We have a similar view from Kenmore which is only a few miles north. You don’t have to live close to this natural treasure to feel its power and maginficance. The mountain reminds us that even though we live in a relatively large urban area, we are surrounded by some of the most wonderful natural beauty in the US.

Here are several other pictures of Mount Rainier taken recently by photographers. Hope you like them:

Pictures by  John_Bennett and marctonysmith .

“Kenmore by the Lake” It really is!

A very nice lady called me from California last week. She wanted me to do a market analysis of a vacant lot she owns close to Inglemoor High School here in Kenmore. During the course of our conversation, I asked her why, of all the agents in the world, she called me. “Oh, your blog makes Kenmore look so beautiful!” I was surprised and flattered. I really do try to give my readers a sense of Kenmore, but I haven’t posted that many pictures of Kenmore “by the lake.” That’s about to change:

The pictures above were taken from Kenmore looking directly south at Lake Washington.

These lakeside pictures were taken on the shore of Lake Washington in Saint Edward Park.

Kenmore’s position at the north end of Lake Washington offers its residents close proximity to shopping, transportation and natural beauty. I enjoy Kenmore because it’s only a short commute to Seattle and yet lies at the crossroads of several main freeways. This allows us easy access to many other wonderful communities such as Woodinville, Lynnwood, Bothell, Kirkland and many others. Come visit us sometime!

A Kenmore Treasure: Saint Edward State Park

Yesterday, the weatherman was wrong. It was supposed to be another gray, rainy day in the Northwest, but fortunately Helios managed to hold off the clouds. This gave me an opportunity to spend some time at one of Kenmore’s wonderful landmarks: Saint Edward State Park. Confession time: I’ve never visited this wonderful park before. I’ve driven past it hundreds of times, and I knew there was was a Catholic Seminary on the premises, but I was never inclined to visit. I think my recent trip to Italy inspired me to take a closer look at the Romanesque brick buildings on the property. Also, I needed a few quite moments away from all the NOISE in the world. I was not disappointed:

The pictures above are examples of the Romanesque Revivalist style of the Saint Edward structures. One sees these types of arches and pillars all over Italy. In some ways, it’s odd to see such an old-world structure in Kenmore:

Just for a comparison, the next picture is from Lucca, Italy. These arches are spectacular examples of Romanesque architecture. You can see their resonance in the seminary details.

This wonderful Seminary was completed in 1931 and operated until 1977 when its 316 acres were sold to Washington State. This is truly a must-see part of Kenmore. I hope you have an opportunity to visit it someday. Make sure you bring your walking shoes.

Mr. Freeze, The Financial Curmedgeon - Pointing His Big Fat Finger at the Wolves

Mr. Freeze and his minions have never believed that letting wolves tend the hen house was a good idea. Unfortunately, our financial system has been controlled by individuals who are only concerned with profit. There are a lot of  capitalists who have been preaching the virtues of the “unfettered” free market for decades. Here is the constant refrain: “If we would just get out of the way and let the free market operate without the intervention of regulation, then business will prosper and everyone benefits.” This is an expression of the Ronald Reagan “trickle down” baloney that so many Americans believe in. Mr. Freeze knows that in America if something is said over and over again, often enough, then it becomes true. Well, today Mr. Freeze takes great pleasure in pointing his big fat figure at all of the libertarian/conservative think tanks, investment “experts,” day traders, financial publications and CEO’s who have manufactured this get rich easy propaganda. It is a sort of money-idolatry of biblical proportions. The tragic thing is that this MYTH is now causing domestic and international markets to self-destruct. As a public service, Mr. Freeze has provided you, dear reader, with two important media clips: a video from 60 Minutes broadcast last night, and one audio article from National Public Radio. I hope you have a few moments to reflect on what these pieces reveal. Click on the picture below to watch the 60 Minutes piece:

Please click on the NPR piece below to hear one of the most articulate observers of the current market break-down, John C. Bogle, Founder of the Vanguard Mutual Funds.

The pieces above confirm one of Mr. Freeze’s economic formulas: capitalism + greed - governmental regulation = disaster. There must be a well-considered balance between government and business. One cannot exist successfully without the other. Mr. Freeze is tired of hearing about the virtues of the free market system. Mr. Freeze lives in the REAL WORLD where people go bankrupt, where families fall apart, where jobs and careers are outsourced,  and where ruinous things happen to people because a wealthy, elite financial class has been allowed to “make a profit” no matter the cost.  Mr. Freeze hopes you’re all doing OK. Really.

Some Fun Real Estate “ART”

Sometimes art captures perfectly the times we live in. I thought it would be fun to post these wonderful bronze characters given the fact that money and housing have been in the news 24 hours a day. They are called: The Marriage of Money and Real Estate, installed just off Roosevelt Island (NYC) on December 1, 2005,  sculptural installations by Tom Otterness.

As a Realtor working in a fairly tough market, it’s nice to know that someone has a sense of humor about real estate.

Pictures by Wally Gobetz

A $700,000,000,000 Bailout, Golden Parachutes and The Invisible Hand

It’s hard to wrap my mind around $700 BILLION dollars. Look at all those zeros! What’s even more difficult is to ponder all the unintended consequences of using almost $1 Trillion tax-payer dollars to help Wall Street out of it’s troubles. One interesting byproduct of the bailout is the “shocking” revelation regarding executive golden parachutes. Since the 1980’s, executive compensation has been increasing at ridiculous rates. I think most Americans were convinced by the “investment class” that they actually deserved the exorbitant severance packages they received for running large corporations. My, oh my, Americans should have been paying closer attention. Allow me to illustrate my point with the following story:

I had a conversation with a good friend last week. He’s been a Realtor for close to twenty (20) years. He told me that he had to file for bankruptcy recently. He said his home had gone into foreclosure and that his “back was against the wall.” As is the case with so many real estate agents today, business has withered to almost nothing. The affects of the mortgage crisis have come down hard on our industry. And you know, my friend isn’t one of those speculator-type agents who purchased a number of homes as “investments” in the hope of becoming rich quick. He’s a hard-working professional with lots of experience and expertise. Right now he’s having a hard time finding a new job. His story is emblematic of the current state of our economy and it would seem almost cliche were it not for the news that came out a couple of days later: Washington Mutual Bank was seized by Federal Regulators. It was the largest bank failure in American History.

It’s bad enough that WAMU failed. It’s downright absurd that Alan H. Fishman was the new chief executive officer of the company for a total of 17 days when he bailed-out with a golden parachute worth close to $20 million dollars. Looked at another way, Mr. Fishman was paid $50,000 per hour (assuming he worked 24 hours a day whilst on the job). He didn’t even have to get results. It seems he just had to show up. Let’s be honest, we all have a picture in our heads about this type of person:

This morning Congress announced a Draft Proposal on the Financial Rescue Legislation which contains language regarding the limitation of CEO compensation:

• Limits on excessive compensation for CEOs and executives

– New restrictions on CEO and executive compensation for participating companies:

– No multi-million dollar golden parachutes

– Limits CEO compensation that encourages unnecessary risk-taking

– Recovers bonuses paid based on promised gains that later turn out to be false or inaccurate

One can only hope that this portion of the legislation survives the legislative process. Already I can hear the corporate apologists whining and complaining that running a company is a tough job. Pardon me for being so blunt, but I’m sick and tired of hearing how tough it is on the wealthy and privileged . I’m particularly tired of the notion that it takes some sort of Ubermensch to run a corporation.

My friend, who has worked hard for many years, is not part of any bailout. He represents millions of other Americans who have worked hard and played by the rules only to discover that Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” (the wonders of an unfettered market place)  is propaganda. It’s a philosophy that has been repeated over often enough that we actually believed it. I can only hope that this bailout will actually help the current market situation. Perhaps we will be better off in several years, but for now let’s all make a promise to ourselves: let’s be more vigilant with those in Wall Street who would have us believe they really care about us.

Pictures: capitalist  pig, http://flickr.com/photos/urbanblitz/, Washington Mutual Tower,  http://flickr.com/photos/cloganese/, Bailout http://flickr.com/photos/emdot/2880848408/

Autumn - My Favorite Season

Autumn has always been my favorite season and the Seattle area is one of the most beautiful places in America when the leaves begin to turn. We are a few weeks away from the deep, brilliant colors……but I simply can’t wait…….enjoy these stunning pictures from around the area:

Hi, Meet Crybaby (American) Capitalism

Have you ever lost your job and had a hard time paying your credit card bills, or got behind on your mortgage, or had medical bills or your spouse left you with a mountain of debt? Have you ever listened to people talk about “those folks” who should take personal responsibility for paying their debts! If so, then you need to meet Crybaby Capitalism. He has a solution to your financial problems. See if this works for you next time you need help:

Hi, I’m Crybaby Capitalism. You’ve been hearing a lot about me over the last several months. Things have been going really well for me the last 30 years. I’ve been able to make a LOT of money by wrapping up debt in security instruments (that no one, not even the smartest analysts can figure out) and selling them to greedy investors. After all, everyone knows that GREED IS GOOD. Wasn’t that the famous line in the film “Wall Street?” It didn’t matter that the paper we were pushing wasn’t worth as much as we said it was. It didn’t matter that what we were doing was borderline fraud. After all, no one was really looking that carefully, especially Uncle Sam, who has been demasculated by years of deregulatory legislation by both political parties.

Now that a lot of my friends: Banks, Security Companies and large corporations have gone bankrupt, they aren’t happy!!! They don’t think it’s FAIR that they lost money. After all, they were all practicing FREE MARKET ECONOMICS. Milton Friedman said that no regulation is a good thing. Keep the bureaucrats out of business. It’s all about supply and demand. It’s all about efficiency. It’s all about a rising tide lifting all boats. It’s all about creating wealth that will TRICKLE DOWN from the wealthy to the rest of you poor dumb losers.

But look, how can you ignore my friends:

This is AIG.

This is Lehman Brothers.

This is my other friend WALL STREET.

BUT WAIT, we found a solution to losing so much money. We just cried loudly enough that THE GOVERNMENT is bailing us out. It was so nice for President Bush to announce today that the taxpayers will be contributing billions and billions of dollars to help us out. We promise to pay you back!!! Really!