Unaffordable Family Formation

A reader points me toward this CNN article from May:

Indianapolis was the leader among all major U.S. cities for housing affordability during the first quarter of 2006, according to the latest figures from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo.

More than 90 percent of homes in the Indiana capital were affordable to families earning the median income for the area of about $65,100.

In Los Angeles, the least affordable big metro area, only 1.9 percent of the homes sold were within the reach of families earning a median income for the city of $56,200.

My reader goes on to cite definitive proof that expensive housing was not the case in LA before immigration cranked up. From 1971:

L.A.'s fine, the sun shines most the time
And the feeling is 'lay back'
Palm trees grow, and rents are low
But you know I keep thinkin' about
Making my way back

Good point, although I'm not sure if the famous chorus adds much to Neil Diamond's economic argument:

"I am," I said
To no one there
An no one heard at all
Not even the chair

As Dave Barry pointed out:

I realize that many of you are huge Neil Diamond fans, so let me stress that in matters of musical taste, everybody is entitled to an opinion, and yours is wrong, Consider the song "I Am, I Said," wherein Neil, with great emotion, sings:

I am, I said To no one there And no one heard at all Not even the chair.

What kind of line is that? Is Neil telling us that he's surprised that the chair didn't hear him? Maybe he expected the chair to say, "Whoa, I heard THAT." My guess is that Neil was really desperate to come up with something to rhyme with "there," and he had already rejected "So I ate a pear," "Like Smokey the Bear," and "There were nits in my hair."

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer