Big ecnomic news today that can't be overlooked

What with all the other major world catastrophes going on right now, most especially the Japanese earthquake/tsunami/nuclear power plant meltdown, it would be easy enough to overlook a rather small but hugely important article I saw today online:

Home prices falling in most major US cities

Home prices falling in 19 major US cities, with 4 now at lowest level in 11 years 

Janna Herron and Derek Kravitz, AP Real Estate Writers

NEW YORK (AP) -- Home prices are falling in most major U.S. cities, and the average prices in four of them are at their lowest point in 11 years. Analysts expect further prices declines in most cities in the coming months.

Home values in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Detroit and Cleveland are now below January 2000 levels. A majority of the metro areas tracked by the index now have home prices at levels dating back to 2003, just as the housing boom began.

"The housing market recession is not yet over, and none of the statistics are indicating any form of sustained recovery," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's.

As either an economist or just a regular old citizen of this United States, that is big.  

Not finished there, there is also this out today: 

Inflation worries push consumer confidence lower

Soaring gas prices and soured outlook on income push consumer confidence down in March 

My point?

It is not to say "the sky is falling", I can tell you that.

My point is that, as Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman is pointing out more and again, lately, is that now is decidedly not the time to try to cut $61 billion out of the government's spending.  

I'm not all about big spending and we do need to address it and our debt and deficit spending, but to repeat Mr. Krugman, now is decidedly not the time.

I'm concerned that either the Right-wing and Republicans and Conservatives aren't listening and/or don't care because a) they have to cater to the "Tea Party" and extremists in their party so they can be re-elected OR they simply want/need this president and his policies to fail so, again, they can be re-elected.

My biggest concern is that all of those are true.

Links:  http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Home-prices-falling-in-most-apf-2179818115.html?x=0; http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Inflation-worries-push-apf-1954887602.html?x=0; http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/contraction-is-contractionary/;  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/opinion/25krugman.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss; http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/; 

One success, one fail for the Mayor

Last week, I didn't get a chance to pat the mayor on the back, for once, so to speak, for helping slow down Wells Fargo on the sale of some foreclosed-on houses in town.

One "attaboy" from me--along with others--for doing something well and right in town, instead of complaining--more--about him.

From the Mayor's letter to the city::

On May 12, the Mayor held a press conference asking Kansas Citians to get involved in a planned huge auction of houses owned by Wells Fargo as the result of foreclosures.

The Mayor was concerned that the houses would be purchased by out-of-town investors who would do little with them until the housing market rebounds. The problem with this scenario is that the houses typically end up being an eyesore in the neighborhoods - with weed filled yards that the city is then burdened to clean-up until they can track down the investors to pony up and pay for the maintenance.

After his press conference, Wells Fargo canceled the auction.

Excellent. Instead of absentee landlords, from out of town, buying up and owning these properties, maybe more local investors can snap them up at bargain prices, fix them up a bit and take care of them, instead of letting them become, as said above, eyesores.

So good on ya', Mayor. If you'd do more good and positive things like this, maybe you won't be thought of so poorly when you're thrown out of office this Fall.

Here's the fail:

One man was dead and another had serious injuries after a shooting at 63rd Street and Swope Parkway in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday night.

Another shooting in town.

Another senseless killing.

At what point--I ask again--is this mayor going to stand up in front of local TV cameras with other civic, community, church and other leaders and say we are not/cannot any longer take these pointless, tragic shootings and killings and we are going to come together to fight them?

I know I've been asking this for the last year here.

It's nearly one more Summer upon us and the temperatures are rising, along with the humidity and we all know the likelihood these will increase is extremely strong.

I would contend--and I think a lot of other people would, too--that this issue of drive-by and other senseless homicides in town is the number one concern in the city at present and has been during this mayor's entire term in office, yet he hasn't addressed it, full-on, once.

It's way overdue.

I'm calling on this mayor once again, to address the issue of homicides, not because I'm a blogger, certainly, but because I'm a resident of the city and because this situation is ugly, stupid and desperately in need of attention and solutions.

Mayor? Your response?