This really is our fault. Like it or not, every American is responsible for the mess of our economy. Why? Because, as I’ve said before, change happens from the bottom up. Apparently the "people" are at the bottom of the rule of land, even though we are the ones who make the decisions as to who gets elected (well mostly we do, unless of course if you’re talking about Florida and George Bush). So we are the bottom, but we make the decision as to who gets elected into office. Any office.
We have not done our job of citizenship at the local level. In my opinion, it is the reckless actions at the local government level which led to overbuilding; they saw the immediate gratification of impact fees and permit fees and allowed pretty much any size development to be built in their little towns, big cities, on their farms, using up most if not all of their open land. From coast to coast, municipal governments turned their backs on the future, had no regard for the excessive building going on in towns all around them, and went for the brass ring. Which led to a buying frenzy, which added more overbuilding, which led to financial creativity to unload the overbuilding, which led to borrowers getting duped into mortgages they really could not afford, which led to foreclosures, with still high inventory of homes to be sold, and so on and so forth.
Yes, the current administration should have regulated financial institutions and prepared the economy for the major let down of this gold rush; any fool could see it coming. But we must hold officials at the municipal level accountable for their lack of reality based choices, and for being taken by developers. We all must start caring more about who you elect into those offices. Sara Palin is a perfect example of a rogue, small town official who in a few years, brought Wasilla’s economic status into a new red zone that they never knew. The citizens will be paying for it for a long, long time. One person, one leader, flushed their future into the shitter. Multiply that by hundreds, thousands of towns, across the nation, and you’ve got, well, you’ve got what we now have. A huge economic hole.
Now that we’ve learned the hard lessons of complacency, I’d beg you once again, get involved in your local government. Know who you are voting for at that level, because now that the damage is done, you’re really going to need someone savvy to get your municipality through the next trial period of economic hardship. Or if you think you've got what it takes, damn it, get yourself on the ballot.