The USA has a price…Sell, sell, sell!

The following story caught our attention this morning from the Wall Street Journal.

Rich foreigners who buy high-end homes would get status in the United States if the recent legislation introduced in Congress passes. It is part of an effort to spur the depressed real estate market. Of particular note is that the visa would cover spouse and children of the principal home buyer, and their stay is good as long as the house is not sold.

We respond in part to the partial story below. (Further reading please click here.)

The reeling housing market has come to this: To shore it up, two Senators are
preparing to introduce a bipartisan bill Thursday that would give residence visas to foreigners who spend at least $500,000 to buy houses in the U.S.

The provision is part of a larger package of immigration measures, co-authored by Sens. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah), designed to spur more foreign investment in the U.S.

Supporters of the bill, co-authored by Sen. Charles Schumer, say it would help make up for American buyers who are holding back.

Oh most definitely! What next? Why not try to sell something to a foreigner that an American won’t buy? What kind of scheme of arrangement is that? Furthermore, as the 1970s clearly showed is that the more affluent the community and property is
the greater the rate of buying. This is the epitome of class warfare – yet it’s worse – its selling one’s country.

Foreigners have accounted for a growing share of home purchases in South Florida, Southern California, Arizona and other hard-hit markets. Chinese and Canadian buyers, among others, are taking advantage not only of big declines in U.S. home prices and reduced competition from Americans but also of favorable foreign exchange rates.

Ostensibly what is okay for Chinese, Canadian, and other perhaps Middle Eastern and
African buyers to come in and get (family visas) and property ownership because
the US Dollar is devaluating is the same thing as selling one’s nation. What do
these people think – “we’ll buy it and save the Americans” – and while we’re at
it, why stop at houses?

To fuel this demand, the proposed measure would offer visas to any foreigner making a cash investment of at least $500,000 on residential real-estate—a single-family house, condo or townhouse. Applicants can spend the entire amount on one house or spend as little as $250,000 on a residence and invest the rest in other residential real estate, which can be rented out.

The measure would complement existing visa programs that allow foreigners to enter the U.S. if they invest in new businesses that create jobs. Backers believe the initiative would help soak up an excess supply of inventory when many would-be American home buyers are holding back because they’re concerned about their jobs or because they would have to take a big loss to sell their current house.

In a relative nutshell what we have here is a government that is so desperate they
are willing to sell off the United States of America in an attempt to inspire
economic woes.