There are dozens of members of the Manufactured Housing Executives Committee (MHEC) and a tip from a member of MHEC from among state executives will be explored later in this report. But first up (Part I) of this report with analysis will be a new Gallup Survey and what the WND News Center provided to ManufacturedHomeProNews.com (MHProNews.com) on that topic. That will be juxtaposed with some manufactured housing specific takeaways in Part II, which will include yet another tip from a manufactured housing state association connected source.
Part I – Gallup Survey Reveals Political Shift, Specifics from WND News Center to MHProNews.
Part II – Tips on Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI), Left-Leaning Bias Among Several Top MHI Brands, and More Insider Info With MHProNews Analysis and Commentary.
Part I
WND
Shocker! Huge increase in number of Americans identifying as conservative
Now top liberals 40%-26%
By Bob Unruh
Published June 8, 2023 at 3:30pm
Joe Biden and his leftist cohorts in power now have pushed Americans for years to be much more liberal, some would even say Marxist or communist, on a number of agenda points, from his ideologies of transgenderism to abortion to open borders.
Looks like he’s failed.
As a new polling from Gallup, in its latest Values and Beliefs Survey, reveals, shockingly, that Americans have turned back to conservatism with a vengeance on social policies and the economy.
“For most of the past eight years, Americans were about as likely to say they were liberal as conservative on social issues. This year, there is a more obvious conservative advantage,” Gallup explained.
“The shift is mostly due to increasing social conservatism among Republicans, at a time when social issues such as transgender rights, abortion and other hot-button concerns are prominent in the national public debate.
“When asked to describe their political views overall, without reference to social or economic issues, 40% say they have conservative views, 31% moderate and 26% liberal,” said the pollster.
The polling said 38% of respondents are conservative on social issues, up from 33% last year, and 44% are economically conservative, both the highest numbers since back in 2012.
Those identifying as liberal plunged from 34% to 29% over the last year.
The pollster said, “The survey comes at a time when many states are considering policies regarding transgender matters, abortion, crime, drug use and the teaching of gender and sexuality in schools.”
The polling explained, “The increase in conservative identification on social issues over the past two years is seen among nearly all political and demographic subgroups. Republicans show one of the largest increases, from 60% in 2021 to 74% today. Independents show a modest uptick of five percentage points, from 24% to 29%, while there has been no change among Democrats (10% in both 2021 and 2023).”
Gallup said, “Since 2021, there have been double-digit increases in conservative social ideology among middle-aged adults — those between the ages of 30 and 64. At the same time, older Americans’ ideology on social issues has been stable, while there has been a modest increase in conservative social ideology among young adults.
“When Americans are asked to describe their views on economic issues, 44% identify as very conservative or conservative, 33% moderate and 21% very liberal or liberal. The percentage saying they are conservative averaged 40% between 2020 and 2022. The current figure is the highest since 46% in 2012.”
The report added, “Americans have been more likely to identify as economically conservative rather than liberal because Republicans overwhelmingly say they are conservative, but Democrats are not overwhelmingly liberal. In 2023, 79% of Republicans identify as conservative on economic issues, while 48% of Democrats say they are liberal. Additionally, more independents identify as economic conservatives (36%) than liberals (16%). About half of independents say they are moderate on economic matters.”
And on social issues, “This year, there is a more obvious conservative advantage. The shift is mostly due to increasing social conservatism among Republicans, at a time when social issues such as transgender rights, abortion and other hot-button concerns are prominent in the national public debate.
“Greater social conservatism may be fostering an environment more favorable to passing conservative-leaning social legislation, especially in Republican-dominated states. Indeed, in the past year, many Republican states have passed stricter constraints on abortions, limited choices for transgender youth in sports participation and healthcare, and placed prohibitions on what topics can be discussed in classroom settings.” ##
Part II – Additional Information with More MHProNews Analysis and Commentary
Information is potential power. It has been so for thousands of years. The ancient Latin (think Roman Empire) expression “scientia potentia est” is said to mean “knowledge is power” but it is perhaps more aptly knowledge is potential power. Potentia, per Wiktionary means: “force, power, might. ability, capacity. political power, authority, influence, sway.” Hold those thoughts.
For years, MHProNews has been tracking public opinion polls on certain topics that could affect public policy which could in turn impact manufactured housing. Indeed, it is objectively fair to say that among manufactured housing bloggers and trade publishers, while some may mention such topics, no one has provided the manufactured housing industry’s professional readers, investors, advocates and others with a similar range of coverage with expert analysis. No one has even come close to providing an array of information from sources that span the left-center-right divide.
It has always been important to understand the perspective of the other person or group.
It has always been important, perhaps especially for small businesses, to navigate the political, cultural, religious, or other divides.
To that point, the following.
While some in MHVille publish thinly veiled propaganda that routinely promotes the MHI perspective (see Strommen and other analysis), MHProNews from early on in this history of this platform published both MHI and MHARR items.
A look back at articles from a decade or more ago would reveal that there were times we sided with MHI, and other times we saw and advocated for the wisdom of MHARR’s stance.
Similarly in terms of national politics, MHProNews editorially accepted at face value MHI’s claim that they were nonpartisan. Certainly, MHI’s PAC could provide a list of campaign donations that would make it clear that they give to both Democrats and Republicans. There is a kind of wisdom to that approach, even for those who may believe more in the policies of one party over the other.
For those who routinely attended MHI meetings, as MHProNews did for years, political and policy discussions were a common feature. That was due in part because the industry’s members were being compelled to navigate things like ObamaCare (the so-called Affordable Care Act or ACA).
Projections of who would win or lose in certain elections were discussed.
But those discussions did not routinely get into MHI emails. In fairness, there may on the surface appear to be some justification for that stance. MHProNews asked, and MHI leaders at that time explained that disconnect to MHProNews, it was so that members could freely discuss politics without fear of retribution from this or that party’s members. If that was sincere, it may be justified. But if MHI leaders were not being sincere, then it is just more of what is increasingly apparent window dressing from MHI to the industry.
Warren Buffett is apparently correct on somethings he says, but even those correct items may not always mean what they seem to mean. Among the insights are his observations about habits and his observations on the value of history. Buffett is said to be keen on a range of historic topics. A few Buffett quotes for now.
- “Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” Warren Buffett per BrainyQuote.
- “In the business world, unfortunately, the rear-view mirror is always clearer than the windshield.” That Buffett quote is per GrahamValue, that points out that it has been shortened by some into “In the business world, the rear-view mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”
- “We are made by history.” Warren Buffett per BrainyQuote.
- “What we learn from history is that people don’t learn from history.” Warren Buffett per Quote Fancy.
Each of these quotes merits the insight of investment advisor Michael Lebowitz, who said they studied Buffett’s sayings and his actual behavior.
Martin “Marty” Lavin, J.D., longtime advisor to MHI on finance and other topics, and an MHI award winner for his services, is not the first to note that it is better to watch what people do rather than simply believe what people say. Author Roxanne Bland, for instance, put that like this: “Forget what they told you. You want the truth, follow the money.” Left-leaning Wikipedia explains that the expression “follow the money” “Follow the money” is a catchphrase popularized by the 1976 docudrama film All the President’s Men, which suggests political corruption can be brought to light by examining money transfers between parties. But even Wikipedia notes that the phrase follow the money predates that movie. For instance: The phrase “Follow the Money” was mentioned by Henry E. Peterson at the 1974 Senate Judiciary Committee hearings as Earl J. Silbert was nominated to U.S. Attorney.” Reporters and investigators (think law enforcement, as well as others) have long held that thought as critical to solving crimes or tracing the causes for some scandal. Another one used by journalists and investigators is the notion of cui bono? Meaning, “Who Benefits?” from a given action or inaction.
We mentioned above that there is a left-leaning bias among some leading brands in manufactured housing.
Manufactured housing is demonstrably suffering during an affordable housing crisis. Even some of MHI’s own members, in their investor relations pitches, show that the historic trend in manufactured housing was much higher years ago. That begs the obvious question. Who is benefiting from that historic change? What does following the money tell us about why manufactured housing has been underperforming during an affordable housing crisis?
A problem with modern journalism is that it is all too often tied to deep pockets. That’s not to say that ever piece of news is ‘fake.’ While that expression was useful for deposed President Donald J. Trump to popularize it for millions, a more precise expression is that many leaders, and all too often in media, people palter. They withhold information. As former award-winning CNN journalist Chris Plante says, the greatest power of the media is their power to ignore. Plante became an award-winning satirical pundit on Washington D.C. station WMAL, which syndicated his program nationally. Of late, Plante has been using this reference to an insightful and quotable quote by the late Malcom X.
Both the power to ignore and what some call spin, or at times more precisely paltering or projecting, are realities that sadly must be kept in mind even on weather reports. Bias is found in sports reporting. Bias is found in mainstream news. That bias is often as simple as following the money. Big advertisers get benefits that are not obviously stated. More on that another time, perhaps, but for now the most insightful documentary drama that ought to be viewed by every thinking adult once a year is Shadows of Liberty. MHLivingNews has that posted in an article linked below the quotes.
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How to Get People Lined Up Waiting for Manufactured Homes Every Morning…
It can’t be stressed too much that if Warren Buffett, or even a ‘lesser’ billionaire like the late Sam Zell, wanted to properly promote manufactured housing, they could do so without any help from any industry trade group. They don’t need MHI, but they chose to use MHI.
Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) used to own a chain of newspapers that covered much of the country. MHProNews has periodically reminded readers after our own “aha!” moment that if each of those publications ran a single article a week to educate the public on manufactured housing, there could be lines waiting outside of every manufactured home retail center every morning in a reasonable timeframe.
If any single one in the league of Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Larry Fink (CEO of BlackRock), Elon Muck, or number of others with deep pockets and plenty of access to media wanted to do so, an educational campaign combined with a lobbying effort could unlock the doors to a titanic flood of shoppers on manufactured housing. They obviously do not want to do so, because they have NOT done so. Those people aren’t stupid, they are shrewd and cunning. See the report on the Dark Triad and related as it applies to manufactured housing.
In a pending report on Clayton Homes and their employees, MHProNews will pull back the veil on remarks from insiders that shed more light on why the industry is underperforming and how the decisions of that firm’s leadership are arguably being used to keep manufactured housing underperforming. Such decisions cost families and workers a small fortune over the years, as the reports linked here and here reflect.
What Lavin called “the big boys” that dominate MHI have projected for some time is that they are wise and wonderfully working the system in Washington, D.C. But as only MHProNews has done in MHVille trade media, we spotlighted Investopedia’s insightful remarks on the Illusory Truth Effect. But two years earlier, this writer for MHProNews did an op-ed 500 for WND that outlined how America is being manipulated by the few and the illusory truth effect’s role in that process. Not to brag, but no one has studied and reported on this vexing pattern more among MHVille’s sad excuse for the balance of trade media than this and our sister platform. Honest media is supposed to hold the powerful to account! Who else in MHVille even postures doing that? And if they do, how consistent are they?
need to wait years for legislation that in the past has often led to little or no discernable benefit. https://www.wnd.com/2021/05/solution-big-tech-oligarchs/
Back to MHI and those Tipsters
Use whatever lingo you care to use, but MHProNews’ postscript linked here directly called to account MHI’s leaders, including Kevin Clayton, William Boor, and others. There is POWER in asking the right questions with evidence to back it up! There is POWER in pushing MHI’s self-serving leaders (see the four attorneys) on a range of topics that they have obviously mishandled. It is simply not plausible that men, and some women, with such experience and education could miss the obvious time and again. They are actively engaged in a scheme to deceive the industry that results in underperformance, that is per the direct and indirect takeaways linked here. After months of reports on MHProNews, even an analyst put the question to MHI Vice Chairman and Cavco corporate leader Bill Boor. Why is the industry underperforming? More precisely Gregory Palm asked, why is manufactured housing production so weak?
Let’s be clear. MHI has been skipping or lightly touching on June as National Homeownership Month for years. MHLivingNews smacked MHI with their latest failure in a report linked here. Days later, on June 7th, 2023, MHI sent the following to one of their email lists.
June is National Homeownership Month
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) are amplifying their efforts to enable access and remove barriers to homeownership, address the racial wealth gap, and help struggling homeowners keep their homes. Visit HUD’s 2023 National Homeownership Month webpage.” ##
Does that email to MHI followers leave MHI off the hook? Logically, absolutely not. It only shows that:
- MHI leaders are reading MHProNews/MHLivingNews regularly (which is just one reason why all others should too).
- MHI leaders can be embarrassed into acting, but only when they are confronted with THE FACTS in a fairly analyzed and WELL REASONED manner. They finally acted on suing the DOE, thanks to MHARR and our platform’s mutually supportive but independent efforts.
To the point of surveys and part 1 of this report. There are good, bad, and meh surveys in terms of quality. This is a fact that a state association based MHEC member previously mentioned to MHProNews in the context of the MHI CrossMods scheme and Clayton’s apparent role in it. That state exec told us, and MHProNews reported at that time, that when MHI rolled out what became their CrossModTM plan, that their so-called public opinion survey and focus group were no better than the firms they hired to do them. That exec explained that once the service provider knows what outcome the client wants, they can essentially help arrange to provide them with just those kinds of supportive numbers.
Some broad-brush points before wrapping this report up.
- 1) There are still people in MHVille willing to provide MHProNews with information and insights that expose the tragic fall of a once far greater industry. Information, as simple as forwarding emails from a state or national trade group, is useful because it gives a chance to examine what is said vs. what is known and accomplished. We value every tip.
- 2) The site data tells us that we have been rising in traffic, which means that industry readers find this content relevant.
- 3) The site data further tells us that readers routinely read several pages of content in each visit. They are obviously clicking several links within a report like this because we post perhaps 9 to 12 reports weekly between both sites (MHProNews/MHLivingNews and the various blogs). When over 9 page views results from a single visitor, that means they are reading one report and going deeper into it. Knowledge is power, and people are tired of being conned and lied to in fancy ways like “paltering”
If MHI wanted to see manufactured housing soar, they could do so at almost any time in a myriad of ways. What is increasingly obvious is that they have arguably been caught up in their own web of deceit. What is the purpose of that deceit? To consolidate the industry. They want to keep it small, because that makes consolidation easier.
If MHI’s board leadership wanted no conflicts of interest with site builders, they would have dumped Lesli Gooch years ago following the still relevant flashback report linked below.
But MHI board leaders did not dump Gooch. MHI staff at that time told MHProNews that Gooch’s conflict of interest was ‘known’ and they ‘assumed’ that MHI’s leaders were ‘okay with it.’
There has been an elaborate charade played against manufactured housing professionals. Every MHARR member should be proud, because they have supported the one trade group that openly defies MHI with facts and information grounded in their expert analysis. Every MHI member that isn’t day dreaming about being bought out by a larger player should recognize that they have apparently been played. That’s painful, but must be said.
Mishandling information and failure to properly protect, educate and promote (PEP) the public is an apparently ongoing scheme to consolidate the industry. It wasn’t MHI members that needed to see that posturing email above. It was MHI’s job to get that word out to the general public year round, but especially during national homeownership month. MHI was merely covering their six by issuing that as part of their email to their members, who read what they say, and then see what MHProNews has to say about what MHI said.
The Great Manufactured Housing Public Debate…
MHI leaders should literally come to the table. They should pick a public venue and face questions from this publication publicly. They have ducked that far too long. MHProNews has touched base with a university connected professional, and he is willing to make such an event happen. If they have nothing to hide, then why are they hiding? If they have nothing to hide, why are they ducking debate and using the likes of George Allen or others in MHVille ‘trade media’ to give them cover?
Their ruse is over. They may try to sue their way out of this, to give themselves cover for their pathetic and harmful charade, but that may not work, and they likely know it because we told them what would happen if that occurred.
If they have the courage of their convictions, if they are sincerely working for all segments of the industry, then they should quickly agree to meet and have mainstream media invited to the event.
If they don’t agree to such a public discussion, then they stand exposed as apparently engaged in precisely the types of behavior that is described in the report that includes the takes of several attorneys, linked here.
It is time for accountability. The job of media is to hold the powerful to account and to spotlight areas that the public may not see without such reports buttressed by expert editorial commentary.
Ironically, it is “proud” MHI member Cavco that has given the reasons why the industry’s underperformance is harmful to virtually every American.
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that the industry ought to expect this current downturn because more expensive site built housing is also in a downturn? MHI’s research and reasoning are arguably a classic example of PALTERING and the use of a RED HERRING logical fallacy. Note: depending on your browser or device, many images in this report and others on MHProNews can be clicked to expand. Click the image and follow the prompts. For example, in some browsers/devices you click the image and select ‘open in a new window.’ After clicking that selection you click the image in the open window to expand the image to a larger size. To return to this page, use your back key, escape or follow the prompts.
If those legal experts are correct, then these are not victimless crimes. Millions are being harmed, Cavco and others via their investor packets have said so. MHI has admitted as much, when they said: “June is National Homeownership Month, the perfect time to educate potential buyers and lawmakers about the homeownership opportunities created by manufactured housing.” If it was the “perfect time,” then why don’t they have it splashed all over their home page? Why don’t they take out ads or do editorials in an array of publications that FULLY explain why the laws needed to grow the industry already exist, and that they are calling on Congress to investigate why the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000’s enhanced preemption provision has not been deployed by HUD’s attorneys.
The truth has been hiding in plain sight for years.
MHI had the late William Wade “Bill” Matchneer attending their meetings.
Why didn’t MHI get Matchneer on the record and then press HUD on these issues?
It is MHI who should legally, by lobbying, and through other means be pressing HUD and the FHFA, the later on the Duty to Serve Manufactured Housing (DTS). The fact that they finally sued on the DOE rule only underscores what should have happened over a decade ago on the other pending items. It is absolutely not credible that if MHI wanted to the good federal laws – passed with widely bipartisan support – that they could have done so years ago. But they have not. Which leaves the obvious impression that they want things as they are, despite whatever they might be saying otherwise.
There is a prima facie case that MHI has abused their nonprofit status.
The new Gallup poll, reported on in Part I above, reflects a growing mood for real change in America.
There is a prima facie case that MHI corporate leaders have, as the legal authorities linked here reasoned or effectively implied, colluded to keep manufactured housing underperforming. That may bring more wealth to a few for a time. But that scheme demonstrably harms consumers, taxpayers, and smaller investors that actually trust that those firms are looking out for their own best interests. Cavco ironically helps prove that point. There are literally millions of victims of this purported and evidence-based interlaced series of serious offenses. If MHI and their leaders have evidence to the contrary, if they are at all sincere in what they say vs. what they are doing, then let them face us openly in public and answer the questions that they have been ducking for years. The public interest and the manufactured home industry’s honest professionals have the right to know. Knowledge is potential power. Get it. Then use it. ###
Note: the below includes a 21st century look at manufactured housing.
Again, our thanks to free email subscribers and all readers like you, as well as our tipsters/sources, sponsors and God for making and keeping us the runaway number one source for authentic “News through the lens of manufactured homes and factory-built housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)
By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.com.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing.
For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
Related References:
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