Investing In Properties Is What We All Do Up Here
A weekend topic starting with KTLA. “The average price of a home in Southern California may be near a record high, but the number of buyers is far below where it normally is, the Orange County Register reports. As detailed by opinion columnist Jonathan Lansner, the average price of a home in Southern California this April was $820,000, ‘just $1,125 below the record $821,125 set in February.’ ‘Sales are 25% below the 21-year sales average for April,’ he said. ‘And this was the 36th consecutive month that the homebuying pace was below the historical norm for all months.’ Compare that to the dire real-estate market of the Great Recession of the late 2000s, in which ‘local sales … were below average for only 17 straight months,’ he said.”
“So are we headed for another housing market crash? Unlike the 2000s, during which there was a larger supply of homes than demand for them, there is currently ‘just simply not enough supply,’ said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors. ‘So the economics of supply and demand, if there’s a shortage, prices simply cannot crash,’ Yun said.”
From News 8 Now. “There is never a good time to buy a home — except in hindsight. As first-time home buyers try to make the leap, the prices and interest rates seem daunting. Prices their parents paid 40 years ago seem like bargains now, and they despair of ever being able to afford their dream house. The median sale price for existing homes in the U.S. is around $438,466, showing a 1.4% increase year-over-year, according to Redfin. Shockingly, in 2000 the median home price was $119,000! Then again, the median household income was $42,148 in 2000, compared to $75,000 today. Based on averages and medians, housing has been a good investment over the long run.”
Yahoo Finance. “The US is in the middle of the typical peak homebuying season, but all signs suggest that the market remains sluggish. Mortgage rates aren’t helping. Many would-be buyers find they’re able to rent a much larger home than they could afford to buy. For decades, home price appreciation has been outstripping earnings growth. In the last 25 years, home values have more than tripled. The steepest climb came between 2020 and 2022, when pandemic moves and ultra-low mortgage rates spurred a buying frenzy across the country. Meanwhile, median incomes from 2000 to 2023 did not quite double. A family making the median US income of around $80,000 could comfortably afford to spend around $2,400 a month on housing, using conventional affordability guidelines. If they put 15% down on their home purchase — roughly the average-sized down payment — they could afford to buy a home costing up to $543,000 with a 3% mortgage rate. But if their mortgage rate is 7%, their buying power goes down to $356,000. That’s less than where the median home is listed today. At current mortgage rates, the median earner can’t afford to buy the median home.”
“In comments on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged the market’s challenges. ‘We have a longer-run shortage of housing, and we also have high rates right now,’ Powell said. ‘I think the best thing we can do for the housing market is to restore price stability in a sustainable way and create a strong labor market.'”
Community Impact in Texas. “Shae Cottar, chair of the Houston Association of Realtors, said supply chain issues and record-low interest rates during the COVID-19 pandemic affected inventory levels, which were as low as 0.47 months of inventory locally in February 2022. Homebuilders have since helped replenish that stock across the Greater Houston area, he said. ‘I think that while a lot of times it’s easy to look at the last five years and feel like that is the way it is, that’s normal; if you look on a historical timeline, I think what we’re actually seeing right now is a normalizing of the market,’ Cottar said at the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce luncheon. ‘We’re getting it back to something that’s more sustainable because those 3.5% interest rates … and those price points of $50,000 and $100,000 over asking—those things are not sustainable.'”
Space Coast Rocket in Florida. “The Brevard County real estate market, once red-hot, is settling into a more balanced—and at times slower—pace in 2025. According to the Space Coast Association of REALTORS® (SCAR) and Space Coast MLS, key metrics through April 2025 point to a clear shift: sales are down, prices are leveling, and inventory is building. Meanwhile, the median sales price for single-family homes sits at $375,000, a 2.3% decline year-over-year. Though this isn’t a crash by any means, it reflects a cooling off after several years of rapid appreciation. Homes are also taking longer to sell: the average number of days on market in April was 66, giving buyers more breathing room and forcing sellers to adjust expectations. Sellers: You’ll need to price competitively and prep the home properly. Gone are the days of listings selling in 24 hours above asking.”
ABC 10 in California. “A Live Oak city councilman was arrested amid an investigation into a 2024 arson and insurance fraud. According to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office, three men were arrested Thursday on $1 million warrants. They were identified as: Aaron Pamma, 30; Simren Pamma, 28; and Gurtej Singh, 28. Aaron Pamma is a city councilmember and vice mayor for Live Oak, an unincorporated city in Sutter County about 50 miles north of Sacramento. The investigation began in February 2024 when an arson fire damaged a farmhouse on Ord Ferry Road in Butte County. Cal Fire investigators found Singh bought the house and orchards in April 2023 using a USDA mortgage program. A month later, Singh allegedly transferred 50% ownership of the property to Aaron and Simren Pamma.”
“Prosecutors say Singh bought an insurance policy on the house three months before the fire and allegedly made several false/misleading statements in the policy application, as well as after the fire. ‘They have all been friends for years, investing in properties, that is what we all do up here,’ said Michael Barrette, an attorney representing Aaron Pamma. Investigators say the three men sold the property shortly after the fire and collected payment from insurance, yielding a gross profit of around $200,000. Barrette pushed back on the allegations that the men profited from the deal. ‘To the extent that they claim that they made $200,000 on this, they don’t have all the information,’ Barrette added. ‘Rehabilitating the orchard, rehabilitating the property, in fact if anything, the evidence is going to show they lost money on this sale.'”
The Vancouver Sun in Canada. “Another round of layoffs among Vancouver developers is a sign of the seriousness of the troubles facing residential construction and more layoffs are likely, industry leaders say. Wesgroup Properties LP said this week that it had to lay off 12 per cent of its workforce across all departments in the face of what CEO Beau Jarvis called ‘a cost of delivery crisis.’ This round of layoffs comes six weeks after the marketing firm Rennie Group reduced its head office by 31 employees — a quarter of its staff. These are just the most visible examples of cuts that have been building for months, according to Wendy McNeil, CEO of the Homebuilders Association of Vancouver. ‘What we’ve been seeing here is the condo market, the multi-family segment of the industry is in dire straits,’ McNeil said.”
“Wesgroup, whose portfolio includes the huge River District neighbourhood in south Vancouver, said in a statement that it remains fiscally sound, but acknowledged the company has had to delay several projects because the economics ‘no longer support’ them. Jarvis said projects across the country are being cancelled or put off. ‘We are delivering housing at a cost that people cannot afford to purchase.'”
CTV News in Canada. “Builders and those working in the trades are expressing concern about a significant slowdown in London and area new housing market. Figures from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) show that new home starts are down by 72 per cent. Among those concerned is tradesperson Nate Lamb. The father of three young children has noticed that work is becoming scarcer. It definitely slowed down for us; hope it picks up.’ The CMHC figures back up his observations. The agency reports 420 new housing starts between January and May. That compares with 1,328 during the same period in 2024. The gap represents a 72 per cent drop.”
“‘It’s a tough time, for sure, there’s no doubt about it,’ acknowledged Jared Zaifman, the CEO of the London Home Builders Association. He concedes many of his members are having a tough time attracting buyers. With sales off and new builds delayed, some workers are struggling to stay employed. And while Lamb is confident he’ll stay employed, he is worried about friends already impacted. ‘I know a lot of people might make twice as much as me but can’t afford a down payment on a house right now.'”
The Globe and Mail. “For those of us who grew up in the decades after the Gulf War, certain shocks to the global economy seemed more an artifact of economics textbooks than reality. Our formative macroeconomic experiences were not supply side shocks such as the 1973 OPEC embargo or Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait, which drove up the price of oil and thus the costs of production. We were far more acquainted with drops in demand from repeated stock market bubbles and financial crises. In the almost 30 years between the end of Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global business cycle was more or less defined by demand. As both the U.S.-led global order and market liberalization were ascendant, it was not supply chain disruptions and oil prices that posed the greatest threat to people’s livelihoods, but the interrelated challenges of asset bubbles, currency crises and sovereign defaults, all of which are primarily demand-side risks.”
“It is rather astonishing how stark this pattern was in that period. From domestic crises such as the housing crash of 2008 and the dot-com bubble in 2000, to events from abroad such as the Asian financial crisis in 1997 or the Argentine sovereign default in 2000, most macroeconomic shocks for nearly three decades were financial in nature. What these events had in common was that, in each case, an asset value collapsed.”
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‘Prosecutors say Singh bought an insurance policy on the house three months before the fire and allegedly made several false/misleading statements in the policy application, as well as after the fire. ‘They have all been friends for years, investing in properties, that is what we all do up here,’ said Michael Barrette, an attorney representing Aaron Pamma. Investigators say the three men sold the property shortly after the fire and collected payment from insurance, yielding a gross profit of around $200,000. Barrette pushed back on the allegations that the men profited from the deal. ‘To the extent that they claim that they made $200,000 on this, they don’t have all the information,’ Barrette added. ‘Rehabilitating the orchard, rehabilitating the property, in fact if anything, the evidence is going to show they lost money on this sale’
I didn’t see anything about a sale Mike, just an insurance claim.
‘I think that while a lot of times it’s easy to look at the last five years and feel like that is the way it is, that’s normal; if you look on a historical timeline, I think what we’re actually seeing right now is a normalizing of the market,’ Cottar said at the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce luncheon. ‘We’re getting it back to something that’s more sustainable because those 3.5% interest rates … and those price points of $50,000 and $100,000 over asking—those things are not sustainable’
The lending was sound Shae, at the time.
‘If they put 15% down on their home purchase — roughly the average-sized down payment — they could afford to buy a home costing up to $543,000 with a 3% mortgage rate. But if their mortgage rate is 7%, their buying power goes down to $356,000. That’s less than where the median home is listed today. At current mortgage rates, the median earner can’t afford to buy the median home’
‘We have a longer-run shortage of housing, and we also have high rates right now,’ Powell said. ‘I think the best thing we can do for the housing market is to restore price stability in a sustainable way’
You really screwed up this time Jerry.
“At current mortgage rates, the median earner can’t afford to buy the median home”
If we leave things to Adam Smith’s invisible hand of economics, either home prices will adjust further downward or incomes will rise as if a rubber band were connected between the two. Powell, on the other hand, doesn’t appreciate free markets, and the DC dogs are nipping at his ankles.
‘It is rather astonishing how stark this pattern was in that period. From domestic crises such as the housing crash of 2008 and the dot-com bubble in 2000, to events from abroad such as the Asian financial crisis in 1997 or the Argentine sovereign default in 2000, most macroeconomic shocks for nearly three decades were financial in nature. What these events had in common was that, in each case, an asset value collapsed’
We’re Almost Back To 2007
March 26, 2020
A report from Bloomberg. “As America heads into a deep recession, the $11 trillion residential-mortgage market is in crisis. Investors who buy home loans packaged into bonds are dumping even those with federal backing because of panic that millions might not make their payments. Yet one risky sector had started to show cracks long before the coronavirus pandemic sparked the worst financial meltdown in 12 years: the federal government’s largest affordable-housing program, whose lenient terms are geared toward marginal borrowers.”
“As real estate prices soared in recent years, working-class adults everywhere have increasingly relied on mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration — and U.S. taxpayers. Since 2007, the FHA’s portfolio has tripled in value to more than $1.2 trillion, almost 11% of the market. While private lenders make these loans, they are packaged into Ginnie Mae bonds, common in mutual funds and pensions.”
“Before Covid-19 started roiling China, a November FHA report found that 27% of borrowers last year spent more than half their incomes on debt, a level it describes as ‘unprecedented.’ The share of FHA loans souring in their first six months has doubled over the last three years to almost 1%.”
“Not long ago, Alex Castillo drove his shiny black Infiniti SUV through an office park north of the San Antonio airport, along a busy seven-mile stretch of highway that loan officers call ‘Mortgage Row’ because of its abundance of small independent mortgage companies that dominate FHA lending. Castillo, who has the words ‘The Dream Starts Here’ stitched into his jacket, works for Pennsylvania-based American Residential Lending. Oddly, amid the pandemic, his business is booming. His customers locked in FHA mortgages after interest rates plunged this month — adding to federally backed mortgage debt.”
“‘If the government tells me you’re good enough to get a loan, I have to trust and believe in the government,’ Castillo said. ‘Then we just hope and pray that the client doesn’t get foreclosed on.’”
“In downtown San Antonio, scores of investors stood on a parched lawn beside the city’s historic granite-and-red-sandstone courthouse. It was the first Tuesday of February, the day of the foreclosure auction. Matt Badders, a San Antonio lawyer who represents lenders, auctioned off two houses. The failed mortgages remind him of the run-up to the financial crisis 12 years ago, when lending to customers with spotty credit nearly brought down the world’s financial system. ‘We’re almost back to 2007, when mortgage originators are waking people up on park benches, saying sign here,’ Badders said.”
“At the auction, the crowd bid on 338 homes, a third with FHA mortgages, according to Roddy’s Foreclosure Listing Service. One house had dual master bedrooms, a game room and granite kitchen counters. It sold for $202,000 — $52,000 less than the homeowner borrowed only two years ago. The taxpayer-backed FHA insurance fund will take a loss.”
“Dave Stevens, FHA commissioner under President Barack Obama and former chief executive officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said a recession will expose hidden risks in home lending. ‘This should be an alarm bell to policymakers,’ Stevens said. ‘Sometimes you get blinded by a good economy and suddenly look at it and see a bubble of defaults coming.’”
“The federal government has decided it doesn’t want to pursue — and has asked a judge to dismiss — a lawsuit against Utah-based Academy Mortgage Corp. The judge refused. The suit claims the company’s staff would repeatedly feed information into an automated federal underwriting system, manipulating it until the computer gave the green light. ‘Decline is a curse word,’ Plaintiff Gwen Thrower, a former underwriter, quoted a manager as saying. ‘We don’t use it.’”
http://housingbubble.blog/?p=3070
‘So the economics of supply and demand, if there’s a shortage, prices simply cannot crash,’ Yun said.”
Yun lost all credibility after the 2008 housing bubble bust, yet the garbage legacy media goes on quoting this dissembling POS as if he’s some kind of recognized subject matter expert instead of a craven shill.
Based on averages and medians, housing has been a good investment over the long run.”
Until it isn’t. The Fed’s debasement of the currency & destruction of the 99 percent’s purchasing power & standard of living, coupled with factors such as mass job losses due to AI, means the U.S. is going to see China-style deflation that will lay waste to artificially inflated shack valuations.
At current mortgage rates, the median earner can’t afford to buy the median home.”
Bingo. The median home price will have to correct before median earners can afford to sign on Mr. Banker’s dotted line, especially as the FOMO lemmings become cautionary tales.
‘I think the best thing we can do for the housing market is to restore price stability in a sustainable way and create a strong labor market.’”
The Fed’s inexorable expansion of the money supply & “No Billionaire Left Behind” monetary policies has made decent housing unaffordable for millions & enabled private equity locusts & corporate landlords to compete with legitimate homebuyers.
Though this isn’t a crash by any means, it reflects a cooling off after several years of rapid appreciation.
The real cratering hasn’t even begun yet, but realtor lies can’t defer the inevitable.
Yet one risky sector had started to show cracks long before the coronavirus pandemic sparked the worst financial meltdown in 12 years: the federal government’s largest affordable-housing program, whose lenient terms are geared toward marginal borrowers.”
Everyone involved in these FedGov rackets needs to held fully accountable for their swindles against taxpayers & the damage this is going to inflict on the U.S. financial system.
The MAGA base does not want another neocon war.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/22/patently-illegal-critics-dispute-legality-of-trumps-iran-strikes
Miriam Adelson is here to collect, and collect she will.
Get f*d, taxpayers.
Trump accepted his 30 pieces of silver when he cashed Miriam Adelson’s $100M campaign contribution.
It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it!
Taxpayer dollars are still flowing to America-hating NGOs pushing globalist agendas.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/06/americans_shouldn_t_have_to_subsidize_their_own_mistreatment.html
Jimmy Carter – America’s worst president ever until the fraudulently-installed Biden regime – bequeathed us the mullahs’ regime in Tehran.
https://x.com/JoelWBerry/status/1936646019992920261
It’s worth noting that using a diesel-powered heater to warm an electric bus also somewhat defeats the purpose of going 100% zero-emissions, as well.
https://electrek.co/2025/06/15/lion-electric-leaves-us-school-districts-stuck-with-unsafe-broken-buses
Before Pentagon planners settled on “Operation Midnight Hammer” as a name for the strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the odds-on favorite was “Operation Realtors are Liars.”
The 2020 election was stolen.
I would say the 2020 election steal backfired spectacularly on the gloalists & their Democrat-Bolshevik minions, especially the jobless DOGE refugees streaming out of Panem on the Potomac to make their way in our globalist-looted economy.
Does it seem like market volatility has died down enough to make stocks a safe bet once again?
Geopolitical risk might be rearing its ugly head soon, depending on how Iran responds to the U.S. strike on its nuclear facilities. If the IRGC & Hezbollah sleeper cells that likely infiltrated the U.S. via the Biden regime’s open borders go live, they could wreak havoc, which would not be good for the Fed’s Ponzi markets.
“Shockingly, in 2000 the median home price was $119,000! Then again, the median household income was $42,148 in 2000, compared to $75,000 today”
So 2000 was approx 3x income at 119k, which is sustainable (and not that shocking). Today’s 75k at 3x income is 225k. Today we are at 438k median home price. See how easy it is to see we are in a bubble that is 50% overvalued? It ain’t rocket science.
Yahoo Finance
Benzinga
People Are Confused—If Houses Aren’t Selling, Why Aren’t Prices Dropping? ‘That’s Insane,’ One Buyer Says
Adrian Volenik
Thu, June 19, 2025 at 5:30 AM PDT 4 min read
A growing number of homebuyers are scratching their heads. Despite homes sitting on the market for weeks or even months, prices remain sky high.
In a recent post on r/RealEstate subreddit, one Reddit user summed it up like this: “In a lot of places, the home prices themselves have doubled since Covid… and when you factor in the interest rates, you’re looking at paying three times as much money in the long run. That’s insane. Why is this happening and if the houses are not selling, why are the prices not coming down to earth?”
Sellers Aren’t In A Hurry To Move
In many parts of the country, homeowners are still hoping to cash in on the pandemic housing boom—even if their expectations are outdated. As one commenter put it, “It seems like a lot of people are selling who bought in 2022-2023 so they paid a premium and they’re trying to break even, including closing costs.”
The result is a standoff: overpriced listings that sit unsold while sellers wait for offers that never come. “People list a house for $100k more than they bought it for in 2022 after doing nothing to the house,” one person noted. “Then you watch the price reductions fall under what they paid for it at the top.”
Low Mortgage Rates Are Locking Sellers In
Many homeowners have mortgage rates under 4% and are reluctant to give that up for a new home with a 7% interest rate. “If I sold my own house to myself it would cost me like $100k,” one person wrote. Another added, “We won’t be able to sell for MANY years because our house hasn’t appreciated at all and rates are higher now.”
Even those willing to move aren’t necessarily desperate. “The sellers I know aren’t greedy or delusional. They simply can’t move if the price falls much further, so they are prepared to remain in the home for a long time,” one commenter explained.
What About Buyers?
Buyers, on the other hand, are exhausted. After touring dozens of homes with inflated prices and misleading listings, they’re tuning out. “As an out-of-town buyer who has been to a million houses with dishonest photos, I put those houses that have been sitting forever with multiple price drops in my low-priority bucket,” one buyer said.
…
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/people-confused-houses-arent-selling-123003082.html
Housing crashes move like molasses in January. Not like the stock market that can make huge drops in a day. It’s a long game for sure.
BlackRock Jay can’t lower interest rates when higher gas prices will be driving inflation well beyond the Fed’s BS “target.”
https://nypost.com/2025/06/22/world-news/iran-orders-closure-of-strait-of-hormuz-putting-one-fifth-of-worlds-oil-supply-at-risk/
Seattle libtards are upset that a Whole Foods store is closing down due to rampant theft and insecurity, but refuse to see the link between their votes for progressive malgovernance and retailers abandoning their neighborhoods.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1bQD4mH2xw
California housing market sputters for third straight month in May as home sales and prices pull back, C.A.R. reports
California’s housing market continues to face headwinds as lingering tariff wars, ongoing economic uncertainty, and elevated mortgage interest rates undermined buyer confidence and dampened homebuyer demand in May, CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said today.
“With home prices leveling off and more homes coming onto the market, it’s a great time for well-qualified buyers to enter the market,” said C.A.R. President Heather Ozur, a Palm Springs REALTOR®. “Lower prices are making homes more affordable, and the growing inventory means buyers have more choices. It’s a rare window where people can find their ideal home at a good value — making now an ideal time to buy.”
The statewide median price decline can be attributed to multiple factors including elevated interest rates, insurance availability/affordability, economic uncertainty and home sellers’ willingness to reduce prices.
May’s unsold inventory index (UII) climbed from the prior month as demand slowed while supply continued to grow. The UII measures the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate. The index was 3.8 months in May, up from 3.5 months in April and up from 2.6 months in May 2024. Total active listings in May rose on a year-over-year basis by nearly 50 percent and had been increasing at a double-digit growth rate for the last 15 months. The level of active listings last month reached a 67-month high and recorded its 16th consecutive month of annual gain in housing supply.
https://www.wate.com/business/press-releases/cision/20250618LA13572/california-housing-market-sputters-for-third-straight-month-in-may-as-home-sales-and-prices-pull-back-c-a-r-reports/
In Kananaskis, the G7 was a perfect miniature of where the world is now
It’s a heck of a thing to know that you’re living inside a future history textbook – we all agree that’s what’s going on here, right? – but to have no idea where you are in the book at the moment.
Are we a little fact box halfway down a page for some bored undergrad 100 years from now to skim about a strange interlude that gripped the world briefly once upon a time? Or are we currently living inside Chapter 2 of a 400-page textbook that will one day anchor a course entirely focused on, well, whatever is settling in here?
Either way, the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., earlier this week was less a meeting than a perfect metaphor: The new state of the world, arrayed around one circular table in the pornographically Canadian beauty of the Rocky Mountains.
The U.S. was both the biggest presence at the summit – the gorilla on whose shoulders the globe rests, at least until he gets an itch and shrugs us all into oblivion – and entirely absent, a sucking black hole the shape and size of its former stature. The G7 revolved around Mr. Trump the way a funeral revolves around a screaming toddler in the third pew – it isn’t how anyone wants to spend their time or energy, because there are much heavier things going on, but the noise demands to be accommodated.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, as G7 chair, delivered opening remarks while the cameras were still in the room. French President Emmanuel Macron sat on the Prime Minister’s right and Mr. Trump to his left, looking bored and vaguely resentful, as he always does when the words are coming from someone else’s mouth instead of his own.
“We’re gathering at one of those turning points in history – I think we all recognize that – a turning point where the world looks to this table for leadership,” Mr. Carney said.
Was he talking about Israel and Iran, or Russian President Vladimir Putin’s vicious hunger, or how the world order that stood for decades has been smashed like a Lego house dropped on the floor?
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/opinion/article-in-kananaskis-the-g7-was-a-perfect-miniature-of-where-the-world-is-now/
Basically, everyone at the summit was begging DJT to lower tariffs for their country. The only thing any of them care about is being a net exporter to the US and for that trade surplus to be as large as possible.
I’m choosing to leave for the U.S. for a unicorn job. Does that make me a traitor to Canada?
In January 2025, I got a call to go for a job interview at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). They were looking for a professor to lead a new theatre arts degree program.
My friend Claire said, “That’s a unicorn job!”
“What’s a unicorn job?” I asked.
“It’s a job where they’re looking for someone very specific and you are that unicorn.”
A typical tenure-track job will get 100 applicants. I was feeling like one very, very lucky unicorn.
I had to make a difficult choice: stay in my tenured job teaching theatre in Windsor, Ont., where my career was at a standstill or move to the U.S. to start over. It was a choice further complicated by the trade war initiated by Donald Trump and his claims that Canada should become the 51st state of the U.S.
Fast-forward to July 2024, I achieved tenure and became an associate professor. That same month, University Players, our students’ mainstage, which gives them the opportunity to apply their training, was shut down. The six staff members who taught students the production side of theatre lost their jobs in the department. The school also decided to halt new enrollment in the acting program.
In September, a guest speaker at UWindsor’s Senate repeated over and over: “Nobody is coming to save us” — referring to Canadian universities.
And it’s true — every day there’s an article about programs being cut at another Canadian university or college due to underfunding from provincial governments, the impact of tuition freeze and a recent federal cap on international student permits (which has hit Ontario hard). Yup, nobody is coming to save us.
I felt like one of the violinists on the Titanic. “Gentlemen, it has been a privilege playing with you tonight.”
Concerned for my future, I started job hunting. I’m a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, so I was looking in both countries, hoping to find something in my field.
During the hiring process with UTA, I was asked why I wanted to leave a job that I loved, where I had tenure and was thriving. To which I answered honestly: Our mainstage was cut, the acting program was not accepting any students next fall and our university had (at the time) a projected $30-million deficit. A couple of weeks later, I was offered the job.
Then, things started to change politically between the U.S. and Canada. Trump started making tariff threats to Canada and goading that it should be the 51st state. I found the rhetoric ridiculous, and like others, felt an upswell in Canadian patriotism. The response through protests and social media was also “Elbows up,” encouraging Canadians to get ready to fight. Given the context, my parents were worried about me moving to the U.S., and friends expressed their concerns.
On top of that, my partner is not a dual citizen, and we aren’t married. That meant he couldn’t move with me easily.
While my contract was being drawn up, I had a month to agonize over the decision, visit an immigration lawyer and convince my parents that I was a unicorn.
On my overanalyzed pro and con list, some pros were: I could work in my field, direct plays and there would be no shovelling.
Some cons were: Living apart from my partner until we get married and get him citizenship, leaving my students before they graduate, the lack of universal health care, targeting of the 2SLGBTQ+ community in the U.S., restrictions on women’s bodily autonomy, racism and deportation, etc. This list could go on and on. Also, no Tim Hortons.
The idea of being a Canadian in the U.S. in 2025 is complicated, and I feel guilty leaving at a time when I want to back my country. I’ve had some people give me a hard time about moving to the U.S. One person called me a traitor. Am I?
I want to stay in Canada, but I also want to support my family financially. I have to remind myself and friends who don’t want me to move that not all Americans are bad. A lot of them didn’t vote for Trump, and my mom’s side of the family in the U.S. are Democrats.
I joke about the lack of Tim Hortons because I fear telling the truth in public will get me flagged at the border, and I won’t be able to cross. Yet, I’m American, and as a citizen, I can’t be denied entry.
After a lot of thought, I took the job.
The Canadian part of me doesn’t want to leave, but the American part of me is relieved I can work in my field in the U.S., as there are no opportunities in my field in Canada right now — they are disappearing.
Well, I better get packing. This unicorn, Canadian at heart, is riding off into the sunset with her saddlebag of theatre books, two dogs, a wedding date set and hope for the future.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/alice-nelson-first-person-us-canada-university-1.7563468
Our mainstage was cut, the acting program was not accepting any students next fall and our university had (at the time) a projected $30-million deficit.
Fiscal reality is starting to impose itself on Canada’s globalist quisling government due to the exorbitant financial and social costs of importing millions of Great Replacement “New Canadians.” Ironic that the Canadian libtards whose jobs and careers are being rendered obsolete remain the most grimly dogmatic supporters of a government that has consigned them to oblivion. And now this neo-Bolshevik Comrade is going to be infesting the USA – as if we don’t have enough commies of our own.
Fiscal reality is starting to impose itself on Canada’s globalist quisling government
It doesn’t help that the Loonie isn’t a reserve currency. But everyone got used to the government’s largess. It’s happening here too, as city after city is facing huge budget cuts as the spigot of free federal money spigot is being closed.
The Loonie used to be regarded as a resource-backed currency, when Canada was still a First World country. But as the Liberal Party leads K-Dans to ruin, the Loonie is losing value compared to the basket of currencies that comprise the other STD-ridden hoes on the street corner.
In September, a guest speaker at UWindsor’s Senate repeated over and over: “Nobody is coming to save us” — referring to Canadian universities.
Socialism is wonderful, until the gooberment runs out of money.
I want to back my country
As a government employee he was nothing but a drain on the Canuck economy. He’s helping by leaving. Plus he probably sees the handwriting on the wall: that even though he has tenure, he could still be fired if the situation becomes dire.
Pretty sure that writer was a chick. First, she (?) mentions a male partner. Of course any males in the theater biz are going to be gay, but the libtard dogmatism strongly suggests a Y chromosome.
Why on earth does anyone need a college degree in acting???????? go act, get better, learn on the job
This is all a scam
Also out of 330 million people in the US, we couldn’t find an acting teacher? nonsense.
Caught on hidden camera: US govt staff Arslan Akhtar admits he coaches illegal immigrants on how to avoid deportation, gets fired
Arslan Akhtar, a visa specialist working with the State Department, did not know that he was being recorded on a hidden camera when he took pride in saying that he coaches potential illegal aliens, offers them tips on how to avoid deportation. He also called his Jewish co-workers “garbage people” and opined that Elon Musk should be lynched — speaking to journalist James O’Keefe, who was undercover. The discussion took place inside what looked like a restaurant.
The State Department took immediate action and fired Akhtar as the clips for the interview went viral, with social media users asking why a person named Arslan Akhtar got a job in the State Department. The Washington Times confirmed that the department fired Akhtar “upholding the rule of law” as protecting the integrity of the immigration system is essential. The department will also launch a new contractor screening and vetting process, the department said.
In the viral video, Akhtar said he gave advice to Hispanic people on avoiding deportation and his first advice is to “keep your mouth shut”.
“Sometimes, I do say it to cab drivers that are from, like, Hispanic descent. I’m like, ‘Don’t talk to the police,’” Akhtar said in the video. “I’m just saying, like, don’t admit the truth. That is the ultimate loophole. Always maintain your innocence.”
“Don’t give them more information. Don’t tell them what you did, because you think being honest will help your case. It does not. Exact opposite. In fact, that’s all we’re looking for,” he said.
Akhtar said the State Department is full of Jewish people, “terrible Jewish people”, ‘like, really garbage people”.
“These people are, like, colonists. These people are promoting genocide. These are real awful folks. And you know what the problem is? It’s a cultural issue with these guys.” From his experience of working with Jewish organizations he said all of these people (Jews) are awful and they don’t want change. On Israelis, he said he hates them to death and Yemenis are the most conniving group of folks next to Indians.
“Mexican people are nice. They never try to lie for no reason, like Bangladeshi people do,” he said.
“It’s a culture of hatred, ultimately, and it’s a culture of dominance,” Akhtar said on White people. “They feel like they have the right to dominate everybody. To claim Greenland, to claim Canada, to claim Israel, Palestine.”
On Elon Musk, Akhtar said, “I would love for him to be dragged out of the building with his hair plugs” and be “lynched on the street.”
https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/india/caught-on-hidden-camera-us-govt-staff-arslan-akhtar-admits-he-coaches-illegal-immigrants-on-how-to-avoid-deportation-gets-fired/ar-AA1Ha3MP
The State Department is riddled with traitorous holdovers of successive Democrat-Bolshevik administrations. I don’t understand how members of a subversive globalist-controlled party with such an implacable hatred for Heritage America & the Constitution are allowed to hold positions that require them to perjure themselves by swearing oaths of allegiance to the Constitution.
Note to Deep State apparatchiks who would sleep alone in a women’s prison: If you get approached by a hottie who is a 9 or 10, & who flatters you with requests for dinner & drinks, you might want to suspect that you’re being set up for another gotcha hidden camera expose.
Paul Krugman has retreated from his shill role for muh strongest economy ever since Dementia Joe shuffled off into the sunset. But it looks like the party is over for Tech Bubble 2.0 now that the Fed punchbowl has been taken away.
MAJOR update on $INTC Intel layoffs: no severance.
Intel is cutting 15–20% of its Foundry workforce… over 10,000 jobs.
No buyouts.
No early retirements.
No severance.
Just job cuts based on performance scores, automation, and “strategic alignment.”
This is Intel’s third round of layoffs in a year, but the first with zero cushion.
Why no severance?
Intel is classifying cuts as performance- or project-based, allowing them to sidestep packages especially at global fabs.
They see it as a cost-saving move because:
Losses ($821M in Q1)
CHIPS Act funds stall
https://x.com/thejobchick/status/1936543074269954438
How the once mighty fall.
A deportee helps the newly deported start a new life in an unfamiliar country
They are taken without notice, with just the clothes they are wearing and the items they carry.
They arrive at the deportee shelter in Tijuana, unaware of when or if they will ever return to the U.S. and when they will be reunited with their family, friends, and be able to return to their jobs.
Some come to the shelter without having ever been to Mexico or without knowing a single word of Spanish. They come knowing their chances of returning to the United States legally will likely never happen.
For deportees who were swept up in the recent immigration raids in San Diego County and beyond, coming to terms with having to start a new life, oftentimes away from family, friends, jobs, and communities, is a long and unyielding process.
“We have fallen through the cracks,” says Priscila Rivas, who was brought to the U.S. as a baby and deported in 2012. “We are the forgotten ones. This is not just a border issue. It’s a worldwide issue.”
Rivas serves as the Binational Deportee Coordinator for the immigrant advocacy and support group, Al Otro Lado. Rivas works with deportees who are dropped off in Tijuana and must navigate having to start a new life in a foreign city.
“I just remember being handcuffed and shackled, like, for three days straight, going from detention center to detention center, until finally I was deported here, to right where we’re standing.”
Like many of the new deportees she works with, Rivas remembers the difficulties of navigating a new city and learning a new language. “Folks that are being deported and don’t have ties to Mexico or don’t speak the language, don’t have resources, have an extra barrier of vulnerability, said Rivas.
Rivas says she has seen more deportees in recent months than she has since she was deported during the Obama Administration’s immigration crackdown in 2012.
“Individuals that we are seeing at the government shelter to receive deportees are arriving essentially in the clothing of the moment in which they were apprehended. So, if they were taken from the courthouse, they would appear in their court clothes. If they were taken on their way to work, they arrive in their work clothes. If they were taken while simply putting the garbage out by the curb, they might come in their pajamas, and so people arriving are disoriented,” says Ramos. “Some of them equate it to being pushed off the top floor of a skyscraper, and they don’t have anything to grab onto.”
“For many folks that are recently deported, especially after spending most of their lives in the U.S., they feel like their life is over, and while that part of their life is over, our work is reintegrating them into a society and trying to give them tools to begin a new a different life, and we hope for many of them, a better life, one that they cannot be plucked from on a whim,” says Ramos.
Rivas says it’s crucial that, through all the talks of immigration raids and increased enforcement, people remember one important point: “When somebody crosses the border, this is not the end for them. This is barely the beginning of their brand-new chapter. Many things can be done on both sides of the border to create bridges and not let the borders dictate or determine how much we can engage or help each other. We’re all here for each other. This is about humanity. This is about dignity.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/we-are-the-forgotten-ones-a-deportee-helps-the-newly-deported-start-a-new-life-in-an-unfamiliar-country/ar-AA1H3HXe
Seems to me the move is to self-deport and go back with something instead of nothing
He who panics first panics best applies to criminals too it appears.
And some hove them have assets: a shanty purchased pre bubble, a business, savings, vehicles,etc.. They are no doubt thinking that cashing out and going home on their terms is looking better as each day passes.
In which the housing bubble is going to pop even more, as hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens tey to sell in a hurry. And they can’t wait, because every day is a potential day they will be deported and never come back.
This morning I went to Home Despot at 7:30 am and saw almost nobody in the parking lot or at the bus stop across the street.
Elgin immigrants advocates say ramped-up deportation push brings fear, unease
The federal government’s expanded mass deportation operations in the Chicago area and other large cities are taking a toll on the immigrant community in Elgin, advocates said.
“We as a group anticipated this change but it’s gotten a lot more violent and very tumultuous,” said Ismael Cordová-Clough, a spokesman for the Elgin Area Rapid Response group.
Dramatic video posted on the organization’s Facebook page shows a man being pulled from his vehicle and arrested by federal agents on a residential Elgin street June 16 as his pregnant partner pleads with authorities.
“It was horrific,” Cordová-Clough said. The man’s family said he has lived in Elgin for 12 years and has no criminal background, he added.
“It just seems that they’re picking people at random. (In recent) major interactions we’ve had, everyone was driving their work vehicle. I don’t know if that was just a racial statement … that someone in a construction truck or van will most likely be undocumented,” Cordová-Clough said.
EARR members follow up on reports of ICE activity and post enforcement locations, videos and advisories on Facebook, organizers noted.
That also involves verifying claims, Cordová-Clough said. “Because of everything that’s happened, we’ve had an influx of false alarms.”
Loved ones of the man detained June 16 are devastated, he said. A small group of residents braved the heat Saturday in downtown Elgin to protest Trump administration policies, including mass deportations.
“It’s terrible,” Sue Orlet said. “These people are hardworking people. They just want a life for themselves, just (like) everyone else does.”
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250621/local-politics/it-was-horrific-elgin-immigrants-advocates-say-ramped-up-deportation-push-brings-fear-unease/
From the comments:
oh dear, oh dear. be legal, be safe. There are many ways to become legal… some even are helped by employer affidavits, just as done 100 years ago!. Yes, very slow and even hard to do. But, if you have been here for 10-20 years and have done NOTHING…. ???
If you aren’t here ILLEGALLY, YOU would have NOTHING to fear.
Or if you’re here legally.
I don’t know if that was just a racial statement … that someone in a construction truck or van will most likely be undocumented,” Cordová-Clough said
I would say tht probability (maff be hard) is involved.
Musician Deported From US After 25 Years Seeks Help for Legal Fight
After spending 25 years in the United States, Eddie Bellas, a Saint Lucian musician and self-proclaimed advocate for “love and light”, has returned to his homeland following his deportation. Now, he is fighting to rebuild his life and reunite with his four children.
Bellas, originally from Bellevue in Vieux Fort, was deported from the US on May 24. He has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise US$47 000 to continue his legal battle.
According to Bellas, his deportation resulted from overstaying a B-1 visa issued before he entered the US in September 2000. He was expected to return to Saint Lucia within six months, but failed to do so. However, he argues that the grounds for his removal were flawed from the beginning.
Bellas maintains that he was only 17 at the time, a minor under American law, and claims he never knowingly agreed to or signed a visa contract.
Now back in Saint Lucia, Bellas is seeking help not just for legal aid, but for the basic needs of reintegration. He says his former home is unlivable, and he lacks resources many take for granted, like shelter and stability.
He says critical legal questions, such as whether he was of age and whether there was proof of consent, remain unanswered.
“I just need a base where I can set up myself… and, most importantly, I just need the support so I can get restoration for my family and justice, especially my children who are away from their father.”
Bellas alleges that his children were taken from him under false pretences and that their separation was used against him in court to justify his deportation.
“I have filed my case in there… With the proper funding, I can get legal representation so I can stand a better chance in those venues,” he told St Lucia Times.
Beyond the legal system, Bellas also claims he was beaten and placed in solitary confinement while in US Immigration (ICE) custody.
He alleges that a female officer punched him while another sprayed his eyes after he refused to consent to the proceedings.
“She was punching me in my back and telling me to keep my hands away from my face… They told me, if I do that again, they’re gonna spray me some more…They put a bag [over] my head, sprayed me again… I would not wish that on anybody.”
He says he was placed in solitary confinement for three days under harsh conditions: “They didn’t give me no toilet paper… they were just making it as miserable as possible for me.”
Bellas believes this was a tactic to pressure detainees into compliance. “ICE puts you under a lot of duress so that they can force you… to [accept] stipulated removals,” he said.
https://stluciatimes.com/171384/2025/06/musician-deported-from-us-after-25-years-seeks-help-for-legal-fight/
According to Bellas, his deportation resulted from overstaying a B-1 visa issued before he entered the US in September 2000. He was expected to return to Saint Lucia within six months, but failed to do so. However, he argues that the grounds for his removal were flawed from the beginning.‘
He overstayed his visa by a mere 24 years, and insists he did nothing wrong. Now that takes some gall to say,
Bellas alleges that his children were taken from him under false pretences and that their separation was used against him in court to justify his deportation.
Not required to deport him, but it’s probably what made him stand out.
It will be terrible when the Fed’s asset bubbles implode and all the people whose sole success in life was watching stuff they bought with debt go up in price jump out a window. I won’t be happy and clapping at all. It will be horrible. I definitely won’t open a $300 bottle of whisky to celebrate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yge311sFhC8
Cincinnati teen speaks out on recent deportation to Honduras
Life for Emerson Colindres has recently been flipped upside down.
Earlier this month, the 19-year-old attended what he thought was a routine check-in with immigration officials with his family. He was instead detained and held at the Butler County jail for roughly two weeks.
He was deported back to his home country of Honduras earlier this week.
WCPO 9 spoke to Colindres over FaceTime on Saturday evening. He said he’s doing okay and said he’s happy to no longer be in jail.
“You were in there 22 hours in the cell doing nothing,” Colindres said. “That’s crazy, like that’s all like mentally draining.”
His family moved to the United States in 2014, seeking asylum after claims of gang activity against them in Honduras. However, their asylum case was denied in 2023.
“To me, it was kind of more traumatizing because I haven’t been to my birth country in years,” Colindres said.
He said the experience of being detained and deported was exhausting.
“The whole flight I was handcuffed like we’re some big criminals or something like that,” Colindres said. “Mind you, a lot of people in there haven’t committed no crimes, like myself included.”
Colindres’ mother and sister weren’t detained when Colindres was, but they were told they had 30 days to leave the country. Colindres said he expects them to join him in Honduras sometime next week.
“Hopefully I get to see them soon cause I really miss them a lot,” Colindres said.
Even through all of this, Colindres said he feels blessed. He said he’s grateful he was able to return to Honduras safely.
“Things happen for a reason, just don’t lose faith in God and he knows best,” Colindres said.
https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/i-realized-that-people-really-love-me-cincinnati-teen-speaks-out-on-recent-deportation-to-honduras
CincinnatiHonduran teen speaks out on recent deportation to Hondurastheir asylum case was denied in 2023.
routine check-in with immigration officials
This is unbelievable. They were denied asylum, and probably missed the deadline for appeal, and they’re just doing “routine” check-ins? They weren’t even bothering to deport anyone.
BTW, that’s probably why they were deported in two weeks instead of 2-3 months. They had already exhausted due process.
They were denied asylum, and probably missed the deadline for appeal, and they’re just doing “routine” check-ins?
It is mind boggling. No wonder so many came. Their relatives told them that while they’ll never get papers, neither will they ever get kicked out and would even be able to join the free sh!t army. Good thing there is a new sheriff in town.
Buh-bye Felicia.
https://x.com/ClownWorld_/status/1936771788668817668
The Fed can’t print oil.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14836175/Iranian-government-SHUT-Strait-Hormuz-closing-20-cent-global-oil-gas.html
Sounds like an incentive to drill a whole lot more in the US. Maybe even the dumb azz Canucks might take a hint and drill more too.
“Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of the most vocal Republicans pushing against American intervention in Iran, posted on X that President Trump’s bombing of Iranian nuclear sites is unconstitutional.
Massie wanted to introduce a war powers resolution in the House on Tuesday that would prohibit American involvement in Iran.
“This is not our war. But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our constitution,” he posted on X on June 16.
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5362332-massie-on-u-s-bombs-against-iran-this-is-not-constitutional/
Related article from last year:
https://www.mediaite.com/politics/house-republican-claims-every-gop-colleague-has-an-aipac-babysitter-who-lobbies-for-israeli-interests/
From $19 to $7: Real Estate Wake-Up Call
Angry Mortgage Podcast
6 hours ago
Jeremiah is an Executive Vice President at Colliers & one of the leading Land & Building Salespeople in Canada.
This episode we are going to look at the current Housing Correction from the point of origin: buying the land to start the Development. He takes us through the Boom Cycle & the Bust Cycle.
How did we get here? And how long is this current cycle going to last?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cac5OXx4y7k
7:10.
Cant make this up……….Las Vegas woman who killed boyfriend after finding tampon heads to prison: 2 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgRZyfrdgUU
‘We are delivering housing at a cost that people cannot afford to purchase’
Sux to be you Beau.