2007 In Review

If 2006 was the year of secrets, 2007 was the year of revelations.

For many people it was revealed that their house was not worth a million dollars. It wasn’t worth a tenth of that but you still have to pay. Home values are officially ten percent less nationwide and falling more in depressed areas like the Midwest or over-hyped areas like Florida and Nevada.

California is a peculiar case because prices were already ridiculously high. I already see houses that are marked down more than 30 percent lower than a year ago. Remember they are 100 percent higher than they were ten years ago so they need to come down even more. People who moved to Silicon Valley ten years ago and then bailed out five years ago lost a golden opportunity to sell out two years ago. You could have cleaned up and bought an even bigger house in Portland, Burlington or Davenport. The major disadvantage to that is that you are still in Portland, Burlington or Davenport. Get used to your Mold Mansion for the next three decades. With inflation, you might get what you paid for it then.

The problem now is how to pay for a thirty year mortgage without a thirty year job. It certainly explains some of the vicious workplace behavior I’ve heard about in the last few years. If you find yourself doing horrible things to keep your job and house, maybe you need a different job or house.

Of course, maybe you need your job for health insurance. A recent American Cancer Society study found that if you don’t have health insurance you are more likely to die from cancer in five years. Maybe you need to support universal health insurance so you won’t lose your life when you lose your job.

Many people discovered their cars ran on gasoline. Really expensive gasoline. They are now scrambling like mad to unload their SUVs. Posting it as a mobile home on Craigslist will not sell it. You are stuck driving it from the house you don’t really own to the job you may not have. Buy a smaller car and it might mean smaller wars.

The obsession with outsourcing had some unpleasant revelations. The money saved by shutting down domestic pet food factories resulted in poisoned imported cat food. Money saved outsourcing software development resulted in buggy operating systems released behind schedule. Cheaper toys meant lead contamination. Cheap means cheap, it does not mean better. You get what you pay for.

Computer users discovered the price of a free service. Some social networking services revealed contacts and personal information about their customers. Customers need to understand that when they give their personal information away as content to a company that they are losing control of it. Establish your own online brand, build your own social network, create your own content and if it has any value people will pay you and not some social networking company.

Large media conglomerates discovered that people creating their own content and networks don’t need them anymore. I find the wasteland of YouTube and the blogosphere at least as interesting as television or movies. I hope the moguls realize that writers and artists should get at least three percent of the 100 percent they give to the world. Otherwise creative people will find creative ways to distribute their work and it won’t be through you.

Phone companies live a rich fantasy life. Locked phones and proprietary networks are like toll booths on the New Jersey turnpike. Eventually people stop going through New Jersey. I will not buy a phone that runs on only one network anymore than I would buy a TV that would get only one channel. Spend more money on research and development and less on lobbyists.

It was revealed senators have a rich fantasy life too. This year’s Roy Cohn Award goes to yet another denizen of the Pacific Northwest, Senator Larry Craig. He proved that harsh fluorescent lighting, hard tile floors and Muzak can be a place for romance. Don’t forget to flush your career.

On the neverending election cycle, there were over a dozen people running for president this year. I see this as a sign of a healthy democracy. Historically the winner is usually the tallest person with the most money getting the most votes. We shall see.

And that is a wrap. Print!

Copyright 2007 DJ Cline All rights reserved.

Posted by dj in Blumbers, Commentary [783 Views]