So the L.A. Times turned to our own Rich Toscano today for a "more downbeat" perspective on the ramifications of this incredible rise in the number of foreclosures in the housing market.
A sagging real estate market and tighter lending standards are exacting a growing toll on Californians, forcing them from their homes in record numbers, figures released Tuesday show.
Foreclosures soared to 17,408 for the three months ended June 30, an increase of 799% from the same period last year. The current rate handily exceeds the previous foreclosure peak set in 1996, when the state was in the final throes of a six-year slump.
Even the guy the Times turned to for an "optimistic" assessment of the ramifications of these numbers wasn't so positive.
And Rich?
"All the artificial stimulus housing gave the economy is going to go away," said Rich Toscano, a financial advisor with Pacific Capital Associates in San Diego who runs the popular Piggington.com real estate website. "There will be individual pain for people who made the wrong decisions. We all may end up in a recession."
The good news, as seen by Toscano: "I don't envision a 'Grapes of Wrath' scenario where we all have to pile in the family car and look for harvesting work."
The irony that a major national newspaper would end up turning to a guy who has built his name and reputation with online-only insights is, well, Rich.
Not a good day for people hoping to maintain the mayor's image as a credible and honest speaker. The U-T's Gerry Braun hammered him again with a scathing and effective analysis of his rhetoric and the way-too-sympathetic findings of his staff in the Sunroad investigation.
Braun concludes the mayor is "willing to shortchange the truth, intentionally, when it suits his purposes."
And then Kelly Davis at CityBeatnailed him with claims of yet more trouble keeping his rhetoric honest about a proposed mandatory recycling ordinance:
At a July 17 press conference, Sanders said that neither he nor his staff had seen Aguirre's proposal and therefore weren't prepared to discuss it the next day. "The city attorney has never given it to us," Sanders said. "We've asked for it. ... Staff will be at the [July 18] hearing, but they won't be able to participate because they have not seen [the ordinance]."
That statement isn't accurate.
A mayoral staffer, Jeff Gattas, was given a copy of the ordinance and supporting material before the June 4 committee meeting. At the meeting, Gattas read a prepared response from the mayor, taking a position against the ordinance.
So what now Mayor Sanders? I am sure you have something up your sleeve. This would almost be funny if the Citizens didn't have to pay for it!. The best thing that could happen to San Diego is the resignation of the Mayor's Office, including Fred Sainz, and all of the Council Members. This City needs a fresh start. Jerry, do you have any integrity?
Unfortunately the mayor is either inept, or intentionally misleading the public - either one is unacceptable. Its been clear for sometime that Sanders has no passion for, or knowledge of his positions - he simply reads what Sainz gives him. Just watch his next news conference - you won't see somebody that knows the issues well enough to speak from the heart. Its about time the public sees what's really behind the curtain. I hope people take to heart that the Sanders administration is a wolf in sheeps clothing - out for themselves and Republican interests at the expense of the public and middle class. The hyprocrisy of "reform" and the lies of the Sanders Administration must end.
Rich Toscano seems to be one of the few real estate experts to be honest about the housing market. Most real estate pundits don't want to admit the reality of the situation for fear of effecting the market, they have such a stake in, in a negative way. The irrational exuberance in the real estate market of the recent past is coming home to roost!
The terrible truth: Mayor Sanders and the crowd around him are as bad or worse than the previous two mayors and their groups (which actually include a lot of crossovers.) Sanders' backers are consolidating their power with the consent of a weak City Council and a wily sell-out Council president, Scott Peters. The "strong mayor" five-year experiment is quietly going to be superceded by soon-to-be-revealed "recommendations" for a public vote on permanent changes in the City Charter -- coming from a group led by Airport Authority chairman Alan Bersin and confreres, all of whom were mayoral appointees to this "committee." Community planning groups are under siege from downtown's Jim Waring. The City remains in dire financial condition and will seek to save money by privatizing every service but the kitchen sink -- leading to greater and more permanent civic impoverishment than we ever imagined possible.
The really bad news is that the Mayor's bad news is really our bad news! That's right, it isn't so much the mayor himself personally suffering 'bad news' because his problems are really our problems that he has mismanaged or handled in a willfully negligent manner. So pity us, our Mayor let us down -- again.
Jerry Sanders is either incompetent or dishonest. Either way, his administration has become a bad joke on the citizens of San Diego. If we vote him in for a second term, we deserve him. Flying PR monkeys and all.
Here is a prediction: Sanders will keep a low profile and not talk about the issues at hand that has brought out his true colors. He is hoping everyone will forget and now that Aguirre is his best friend again, they will work together to do a few things right to brag about. And just maybe the citizens will just forget about his lack of integrity and he can squeeze out a victory again. Hopefully the silient majority will not let that happen.
Sanders has repeatedly proven himself incompetent. I just moved here last fall for school. In that brief span of time, I've seen him flub Sunroad, recycling, and the pension mess. He has no backbone, no plan, and no vision. I'd like to call him Bush Jr., but I think his behavior is illustrative of incompetence and not malfeasance. Sanders needs to go. That's not even at debate. The real question is what do we want from his replacement?
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Scott Lewis on Politics
The Scott Lewis on Politics blog, abbreviated cleverly as SLOP, is a collection of observations, insights and the occasional scoop on public affairs in San Diego. Please feel free to e-mail Scott at scott.lewis@voiceofsandiego.org.
Listen to voiceofsandiego.org's radio program on AM 600 KOGO: Latest Episode (October 18): Andrew Donohue and Scott Lewis talk in depth about the Chargers stadium search, municipal bankruptcy and whether residents are too dumb to vote on the City Hall project.
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