Lobbiests

Is anyone aware of the runaway corruption in the halowed halls of congress. Have you heard about "K" street and the lobbiests that feed on our tax dollars by courting congressmen for huge govt. contracts and corporate tax incentives. Does anyone care that our country is being sold to the highest bidder? Pony up with some rhetoric or advice to stop this insanity. This a political forum afterall, lets talk politics!

Well I think “Lobbyist” in some cases are a necessary evil. Without lobbyist we wouldn’t have the small reforms like medical marijuana on the state level.
But there needs to be reform on the lobbyist such as campaign contributions, bribes ect. (those involved should go strait to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200.00) In this way we can keep corporations out of the loop in making our laws to where they favor them and more favorable to the people. Remember that NORML, MPP and other such organizations are also lobbyist, so it would behoove us to throw the baby out with the bath water.

If they took lobbyists out of the loop, organizations like NORML could spend the money on TV ads and coerce the people to vote for legalization. Obviously what they are doing at the federal level isn't working as no major marijuana legislation has been to congress for a long while, if ever! Let the people decide the fate of legalization, not congress. If reasonable ads were put on TV addressing the positive aspects of marijuana, the people could see the benefits of legalization. By legalizing it on a state to state basis, they would eventually be able to approach congress with common sense and get the federal ban lifted. If Nevadas and Colorados legalization passes, look out, for next election it will be on a lot more ballots. NORML puts money into legalization campaigns nation wide. I'm sure they had a hand in Nevadas and Colorados Petitions, But nothing good comes from lobbyists. They wine and dine the congressmen and then ask for favors to thier cause! Can you spell "Taxpayer Ripoff" Why does it take 20 million bucks to run a congressional campaign, and where do you think the bucks come from. Our congress is the best Money can buy, period. Untill we change the campaign process funded by lobbyists, thats all we can expect! They're bought and paid for, and the middle class has no lobbyists, can you say "bye-bye middle class. There are record bankruptcies and foreclosures happening as we speak. The America we knew growing up, no longer exists! The American dream of owning your own house, now belongs to those that already own one or the offspring of the wealthy. No-one starting out can afford a 500,000 house, so bye-bye American dream! Thanks to greedy real estate personel!

"Thanks to greedy real estate personel!"

Hey Med ... explain to us the mechanics of how real estate "personel" cause houses to go up in price. Oh, and while you're at it, also explain how that same "personel" causes house prices to go down during business recessions as well. Thanks ...

Vi

ViRedd said:

"Thanks to greedy real estate personel!"

Hey Med ... explain to us the mechanics of how real estate "personel" cause houses to go up in price. Oh, and while you're at it, also explain how that same "personel" causes house prices to go down during business recessions as well. Thanks ...

Vi

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Hey dumbass, I already did this one, Pay attention!

"Hey dumbass, I already did this one, Pay attention!"

Nope, you didn't explain it at all. All you did was go off on a tirade. Now how about explaining how real estate agents cause house prices to increase or decrease. You said something about coersion I believe?

Vi

Hahahahaaha! I see ... so the lack of immigration enforcement causes housing prices to go up? Come on Dank ... have you been hangin' with Med or sumptin? *lol*
Vi

Dank ...

I still would like either you or Med to explain how real estate agents cause housing prices to go up. And, if they cause the prices to go up, do they also cause them to go down during recessions?

Honestly ... all I want to know is how they perform that magic.

Vi

So you think it's ok for them to pay the help the low end of the pay scale and charge the prices they do for a house. You Justify this right?

ViRedd said:

"Hey dumbass, I already did this one, Pay attention!"

Nope, you didn't explain it at all. All you did was go off on a tirade. Now how about explaining how real estate agents cause house prices to increase or decrease. You said something about coersion I believe?

Vi

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Are you learning disabled? Every post I put on this site you pick one word or one sentence and rant about it! learn how to assimilate what you read. I wonder how you can read a contract? I guess the only line you read is the commission line!

That's besides the point, Dank. Med has been making the assertion that real estate agents, because of their greed, cause housing prices to go up. You seem to support his position. All I want is the inside information that you guys have. Just a simple explanation will do. Now ... the question again: How do real estate agents cause housing prices to increase or decrease? Would the answer be ... the same way carpenters cause the price of nails to go up or down?

Vi

medicineman said:

Are you learning disabled? Every post I put on this site you pick one word or one sentence and rant about it! learn how to assimilate what you read. I wonder how you can read a contract? I guess the only line you read is the commission line!

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Med ...

The only things I pick apart are your wild assertions. If you make a claim like "Real estate agents, through their greed, cause housing prices to escalate," you should be able to back it up. A simple explanation would do. If you can't explain yourself, then what should one think of your position other than you are just blowing smoke?

Vi

ViRedd said:

Dank ...

I still would like either you or Med to explain how real estate agents cause housing prices to go up. And, if they cause the prices to go up, do they also cause them to go down during recessions?

Honestly ... all I want to know is how they perform that magic.

Vi

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Look in the mirror and you'll see one of the greedy pricks whom causes this phenomenon by: (PAY Attention) telling the home owner to charge more and telling the buyer thats the best price you can get him, or some variation of this scenario, such as advertising the non-fact there's a housing shortage etc! Dank is right about the new houses, the labor costs have gone way down and the prices have gone way up, sort of like everything else in "your" America! It's the greedy prick scenario, from sea to shining sea!

"(PAY Attention) telling the home owner to charge more and telling the buyer thats the best price you can get him, or some variation of this scenario, such as advertising the non-fact there's a housing shortage etc!"

Ahhh ... now I see! Damn, no one has ever explained to me how the free market works in such elequent language before. Thanks, Med. So let's see ... the buyers rely strictly on what the real estate agents tell them and the sellers are more than eager to overprice their homes, is that it? Gosh, and here I thought that price fluctuations were caused by supply and demand or some silly old thing like that. *lol*

You really don't have a clue of what you speak, do you Med?

Vi

ViRedd said:

"(PAY Attention) telling the home owner to charge more and telling the buyer thats the best price you can get him, or some variation of this scenario, such as advertising the non-fact there's a housing shortage etc!"

Ahhh ... now I see! Damn, no one has ever explained to me how the free market works in such elequent language before. Thanks, Med. So let's see ... the buyers rely strictly on what the real estate agents tell them and the sellers are more than eager to overprice their homes, is that it? Gosh, and here I thought that price fluctuations were caused by supply and demand or some silly old thing like that. *lol*

Vi

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Maybe like a false assertion by the real estate agents that there is a housing shortage. The fact that houses quadrupled in price in ten years is not a market based phenomenon. The price of other goods did not quadruple in the last ten years, so this is a purpose driven situation, caused by, You guessed it, greedy pricks!

Dankdude said:

Look at it this way, A nations greatness is judged on the way that they treat their poorest citizens. So far the US has failed.

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medicineman said:

Maybe like a false assertion by the real estate agents that there is a housing shortage. The fact that houses quadrupled in price in ten years is not a market based phenomenon. The price of other goods did not quadruple in the last ten years, so this is a purpose driven situation, caused by, You guessed it, greedy pricks!

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You really think the average American is stupid, don't you Med? No offense intended here, but holding your fellow Americans in such disdain is very typical of the liberal mindset. An unrealistic elitist attitude at best.

Housing prices have gone up for a variety of reasons. Interest rates have been at record lows for many years now. That has afforded more people to enter the housing market. If you have an influx of buyers all competing for the existing home inventory, prices will go up. Conversely, when home buying goes out of favor, and the supply of buyers goes down, as we are seeing now, prices will go down. Over the past year, we have gone from a solid seller's market to a buyer's market. A year ago, when a seller put his/her home on the market, they would have three or more offers by the next day ... sometimes for over the asking price. A very small inventory of existing homes for sale and a large pool of buyers competing for few houses caused that. Now, we have just the opposite ... a large inventory of homes for sale and much fewer buyers in the market. As a result, we are seeing prices level off, and in some areas, even dropping.

The only magic at work here is the invisible hand of the free market.

Vi