There are those across the left-right spectrum who were shocked and outraged last week when President Donald J. Trump looked toward heaven on camera, and said that “I am the Chosen One...” Blasphemous?!?
There are those who were similarly disturbed when then candidate Barack Obama took the stage at Invesco Field between Greek columns and gave the impression that the seas would subside at his election. See the featured image at the top.
As Lynn Grossman wrote in the left-of-center Huffington Post “I now support Barack Obama, one of the most gifted and natural politicians I have ever seen…” Grossman explained in that 2008 column the writer’s historical support for Democrats and Mr. Obama to say this: “I’m telling you this so you know that it would have to take something really big for me to criticize a campaign I support, especially during its political convention. But there is something coming Thursday night that, to my mind, is a blunder big enough to warrant the criticism: the Greek columns on the stage of The Invesco Field where Obama is to give his acceptance speech.” Grossman – a fan of Mr. Obama concludes that column writing “You know you’re in trouble when Keith Olbermann and Bill O’Reilly agree your campaign has screwed up. Mr. Axelrod, tear down those columns!” Indeed, Grossman was correct, and was not alone in saying the Obama campaign screwed up in creative a symbolic “temple of Obama,” which several on either side of the left-right divide compared that bit of 2008 theatrics to Greco-Roman gods, conquering heroes, or messianic imagery that added insult to injury when on the stump then candidate Obama mocked those who cling to Gun, God, and Religion. Blasphemous?!?
Objectivity is tough on those who have an agenda other than reality. Business professionals and investors are among those who should be closely wed to what is, while being mindful that millions believe stuff that is not objectively speaking real. Proof? Manufactured housing is widely misunderstood.
In 2008, 2019 or any year for decades one may want to talk about, Democrats and Republicans alike have much to be embarrassed and/or proud about.
For Libertarians and other minor party candidates and their supporters, the same is true.
The embarrassment part of that can be said with absolute certainty, because there have been no perfect people or organizations in the last millennium. We may take the words and deeds of anyone and find some good, bad, and ugly. That is why the principle of wheat and chaff proves useful. That principle of objectivity, wheat and chaff is important to those who want to see manufactured housing achieve its true potential, instead of the shadow of our industry’s size compared to what it was in 1998, or what it should be in 2019, 2020 or beyond.
When an industry’s new production is only ¼th of what it was in some 2 decades ago that’s a warning. But in the case of HUD Code manufactured homes, it is also opportunity in disguise that is hiding in plain sight.
Attorneys, medical doctors, philosophers, engineers, detectives, and logicians are among those taught the importance of objectivity. Manufactured home industry professionals and investors are wise to be objective too. We ought to be objective about what we see that is good, and what we witness that is problematic and avoidable.
For years MHProNews and our sister site MHLivingNews have stressed that affordable manufactured homes are ideally a nonpartisan or bipartisan issue. That doesn’t mean that partisan politics won’t enter the mix. Of course it has, does, and will. That historical pattern is reality. That pattern should inform manufactured housing advocates to discover proven ways to navigate those realities, along with others good or problematic that lie ahead.
The 8.23.2019 report in the Daily Business News further below explains – using third party research by Zillow – that acceptance and interest in manufactured homes has declined in just two years. Oops. That is one of several must-reads from the week that was. It has a companion story on MHLivingNews. Read the MHProNews story first or last, but the prudent will read and know them both.
“Opportunity Start at Home” that is linked below explains why affordable housing already is a 2020 campaign issue. It is wise to know that topic too, because it can help you if you get it, or the flip side is that it can hurt those who don’t get the message in that report.
Are you involved in the land-lease community sector? If so, there are several articles that should have your attention in the reports below
Producer? Retailer? Communities? The “Legacy Housing’s Surprise” article is one hot read. If you haven’t dug into it yet, please do. Even those who read it already may want to do so again. Among the feedback, the lead up to the surprise, we have been told, was “…perfect in tone…” Other insights and reaction make it clear that’s an important and timely article. Wow, thanks. It is one of several useful reads further below too.
The Manufactured Housing Improvement Act (MHIA) topic is one of the key issues of our industry. Once you digest it, you should see why. Our industry has good laws on the books, and getting them enforced begins by understanding those useful laws and why they aren’t already enforced.
Speaking of the MHIA, check out what HUD Secretary Carson had to say about the affordable housing crisis and how he pointed to our industry this past week on national cable news; “We seem to have lost common sense…” that’s further below as well.
Did you know tiny houses are illegal in many places? Then you will find a report below about a location where they are legal of interest, and see how that ties into comparisons with HUD Code manufactured homes.
Some are hooked on our evening market reports. But for those who don’t tune in every night to catch the latest market snapshot and a focused topic, Friday’s will tie into a report on Monday that comes straight from the White House. No joke. Our sources in production – which ties into much of what the rest of the industry does in some form or fashion – are wise to dig into the Friday report, and then jump on the one Monday morning too. Plan ahead accordingly, for your own sake.
An industry billionaire is backing former Congressman John Delaney, so you may want to see what that business man turned Democratic politician had to say about “Fairy Tale Economics.” Share that one, and others, with your circle once you’ve digested it.
Read hot is our report on Clayton and their rental push.
On both of our news sites, we strive to bring the content that matters to industry professionals, while MHLivingNews is designed to paint a more complete picture to the general public. As we noted a few weeks ago, scores of federal officials and politicos are routinely on our websites, per third-party data and their direct input too. It is part of what makes MHProNews objectively-speaking the runaway most read trade media in all of manufactured housing.
That doesn’t mean we will be erecting Greco-Roman columns or looking up at heaven to say: ‘We are the Chosen Ones.’ We’re realists. You have your gifts and talents, we have ours. Together with professionals of good will, we can mutually advance the cause of the most proven form of permanent affordable housing our nation has known for decades. HUD Code manufactured homes.
The future should and could be bright. But it will never be achieved without objectively understanding the good, bad, and ugly and having a plan crafted that can work based upon reality. Pragmatism combined with objective idealism can be a powerful thing.
With no further adieu, let’s dive into the headlines for the reports in the week that was from 8.18.2019 to 8.25.2019.
What’s New on Manufactured Home Living News
What’s New on the Masthead
What’s New on the Daily Business News on MHProNews
Saturday 8.24.2019
Friday 8.23.2019
ELS’ Howard Walker, on Where the Money is in Manufactured Housing
ELS’ Howard Walker, on Where the Money is in Manufactured Housing
Thursday 8.22.2019
New Manufactured Home Community Owner Defends Actions in Legal, Media Uproar
New Manufactured Home Community Owner Defends Actions in Legal, Media Uproar
Implementation of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000, Congressional Hearing, Redux
Implementation of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000, Congressional Hearing, Redux
Wednesday 8.21.2019
County Plans Housing Fair Sept. 7, 2019, Dozens Getting Conventional, Manufactured Homes
County Plans Housing Fair Sept. 7, 2019, Dozens Getting Conventional, Manufactured Homes
Tucker Carlson on GOP Senator Mike Lee – “Maybe It’s…as Corrupt as It Looks”
Tucker Carlson on GOP Senator Mike Lee – “Maybe It’s…as Corrupt as It Looks”
“We Seem to Have Lost Common Sense,” HUD Secretary Ben Carson – Homeless, Affordable Housing Crisis
“We Seem to Have Lost Common Sense,” HUD Secretary Ben Carson – Homeless, Affordable Housing Crisis
Tuesday 8.20.2019
Federal “Operation Choke Point,” A Fresh Look from MHVille
Looking at “Legal” Tiny House Living Compared to HUD Code Manufactured Homes
Looking at “Legal” Tiny House Living Compared to HUD Code Manufactured Homes
Home Remodeling Industry – Risks, Costs, What it Tells Manufactured Housing Professionals
Home Remodeling Industry – Risks, Costs, What it Tells Manufactured Housing Professionals
Monday 8.19.2019
Understanding Clayton Homes’ Rental Housing Push, MHVille Implications
Understanding Clayton Homes’ Rental Housing Push, MHVille Implications
U.S. Gilded Age – Politics, Monopolies, Corruption, Historic Insights, Lessons Learned?
U.S. Gilded Age – Politics, Monopolies, Corruption, Historic Insights, Lessons Learned?
Sunday 8.18.2019
Understanding Housing Markets, Public, News, Laws Can Spell Profits with Manufactured Homes
Understanding Housing Markets, Public, News, Laws Can Spell Profits with Manufactured Homes
The truth can be stranger than fiction. The truth can also be far more useful to those who want to grow in an honest, ethical, and sustainable fashion.
Thousands upon thousands of professionals like you check in here daily, we thank you for that, but that also tells you that you are not alone. Not knocking any competitor in MHVille publishing, but the facts are we cover topics that others ignore. Or if they cover it, they do so with arguably inadequate evidence to support their statements.
We dig deeper, look at how a report relates to other known facts, see it if hangs together, and then write. If you want someone to tickle you with fables, this may not be the place. But if you want a dose of reality that can yield actionable insights, we trust that you’ll get into – or are already are into – what makes and keeps us the #1, runaway most-read in MHVille. We don’t need Greco-Roman columns, because a dose of humility is good for us all.
That’s all she wrote this week. Yeah, that other guy helped some too. Thanks again for reading and sharing “Industry News, Tips, and Views Pros Can Use,” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## (News, weekly recap, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary.)
Submitted by Soheyla Kovach for MHProNews.com.
Soheyla is a managing member of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com. Connect with us on LinkedIn here and here.
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