Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Homebuilder to be Obama inaugural guest

From an email from Michelle Obama:
Last week, the Presidential Inaugural Committee announced that we're bringing 10 supporters to Washington, DC for several days of Inaugural celebrations.

With the deadline coming up on Thursday, I'm pleased to announce the selection of the first grassroots supporter who will be attending the Inauguration.

Cynthia Russell from Newberry, Florida, and her guest will attend the welcome ceremony, Barack's swearing-in, the Inaugural Parade, and our Neighborhood Inaugural Ball.

Cynthia is a builder and has been feeling the impact of the recent economic crunch. She wrote:

"I'm a single woman who has been building homes for over 18 years. I've supported myself and have been able to help out my mother from time to time. Now I find myself wondering how much longer I can hold on and be able to pay my bills and keep the doors open for business. Barack gives me hope. Hope that 2009 will truly bring change to Americans who find themselves in this mess with me."
I bet Cynthia wasn't complaining when homebuilders were raking in cash during the first half of this decade.

Update: Keep in mind that Cynthia Russell is not a "construction worker." She is a "builder" which apparently means she owns her own homebuilding business and her own home staging business, plus she "is also the managing partner of Magnolia Manor Apartments, LLC (a 40 unit complex that was built by Emerald Ventures)." It's truly amazing to see the poor, suffering people we're supposed to feel sorry for. I think she needs a bailout. —Hat tip to Chuck Ponzi

13 comments:

  1. "Barack gives me hope. Hope that 2009 will truly bring change to Americans who find themselves in this mess with me"

    This is discouraging. Any attempt to prop-up or return to a frenzied 'boom' period is nothing short of a misallocation of resources. The change we need is not a return to, or propping-up of, boom times. The change we need is to scale down, to live our lives locally (work, shop, play, sleep) and find more time to create things of real value, rather than chase false idols like "derivatives" "unlimited growth" and "Madoff Funds"

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  2. Maybe people like Cynthia who made tons of money during the boom should have saved realizing that it wouldn't last forever. Then she wouldn't be so worried.

    How much do you want to bet she lives in an excessive house with at least one luxury car?

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  3. Just another leach I gotta give blood to.

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  4. The funny thing is though that she doesn't see anything wrong with anything she was doing.

    If she were from a place where there hadn't been massive overbuilding, then I might feel a little more sympathy for her.

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  5. Building AND Staging.

    Oh My!

    Good thing we're promoting more of what we need in this economy.

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  6. I am a Google Adwords Professional in Australia focusing on the Real Estate industry and just wanted to say what a great real estate blog you have.

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  7. GAG

    Another deceived sheeple.

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  8. Barack gave me hope!
    I hope this is not a sneak peek of more failed Public Policy. Remember it was the building industry and failed HUD policy that caused this financial meltdown. We are still waiting for procession of the scoundrels that caused this mess. Rewarding the Building Industry sends the wrong message and only encourages more predatory business behavior.

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  9. I agree that it is quite disappointing to see one of the REIC's own attending the presidential inauguration at my expense. Her invitation to the inauguration just provides official validation to an industry that has become essentially parasitic.

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  10. Let's see. She builds homes so that people have a place to live. People like you. And that makes her a bad person? You guys are losers.

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  11. "Let's see. She builds homes so that people have a place to live. People like you. And that makes her a bad person? You guys are losers."

    Not exactly. One of the problems right now is (a) too many existing homes and (b) too few people to fill them. So why do anything to help someone who is going to build more homes and add to the problem?

    Giving her money right now is like proping up the flagging 8-track or casette industries. Fact of the matter is, people dont want those things.

    Her time will come. There will one day be a time when we do have a shortage of new homes. Now is not that time.

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  12. According to the Alachua county tax assessor's website she has a total of around $2.5 million of assessed properties (about a dozen properties, both vacant and built on).
    A few months ago she moved her home office to an office building she purchased and totally renovated and decorated, with no expense spared.
    She owns at least 3 vehicles (one of them being a Lexus), and also a Harley Davidson.
    She's no Joe the Plumber...
    might as well bail her out with all the rest of the people who just spend, spend, spend.

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  13. It's outrageous that Obama would include anyone from one of the industries that caused the real estate bubble and bust! Just goes to show you ALL politicians are cut from the same cloth. We will never have a real choice, or real change, until we sever the connection between corporate money, and our elected officials. It isn't a party issue, it's a corruption issue that goes thru all parties because corporate lobbying and campaign contributions inevitably corrupt the govt.

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