Before we dive into our main theme, a note that the Carlyle Group has just announced a $150 million dollar deal. You’ll see this covered in the read-hot Daily Business News blog. So the MHC consolidation trend moves on, and Carlyle increases their footprint in MH.
That said, let’s move onto our main mid-week Masthead blog topic.
Mad as Hell
Yahoo Answers has a post which explains that the phase Mad as Hell is “often used to mean the MOST EXTREME ANGER POSSIBLE, as in the movie “Network” where Howard Beal says over and over: “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more.”
In the U.S. and MHVille today, there exists a full spectrum of emotions. We’ll glance at them all, but Mad as Hell is among them.
Some in our MH Industry, even during the depth of the Great Recession of 2008-2009, we’re saying how profitable they were. One MHC pro told me then, “Tony, I’m working harder than ever before, but I’m also making more money than ever before.”
That’s not unique in the MHC sector, where REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts – eg: ELS, SUN, UMH), mid-to larger companies and savvy independents are doing quite well. But that doesn’t mean that all in the MHC sector are soaring. Many have struggles.
We could say the same about other sectors in the Industry.
For example. With MH Retailers, transporters and installers, it depends on who you talk to and where in the U.S. they are as to whether they are smiling, stressing, successful, struggling, etc..
Ditto associations. Some associations are on life support, others are okay or are rebounding. Some managed quite well, even during the depths of the downturn.
MHVille and American Anger
In a narrow sense, professionals in MH could be said to mirror the greater population. Why are record numbers tuning into these early Republican and Democratic presidential debates? Part of the answer is suggested by polling, which shows that 2 out of 3 (some are as high as 70%) believe the nation is on the wrong course.
So millions are:
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Feeling the Bern of self-proclaimed socialist, Bernie Sanders, or
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are rooting for The Donald to Make America Great Again,
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or are for the surging retired brain surgeon, Dr. Ben Carson;
and so on down the list.
The reason that Speaker of the House John Boehner is exiting is because enough of his fellow Republicans were mad as hell at how he caves into the POTUS Obama Agenda.
There and millions of voters are mad as hell, and like Howard Beal in the movie Network, are not going to take it any more.
Pundits in the spring of 2015 thought insider Jeb Bush was ‘inevitable.’ Now, they’re talking about the very real possibility that Jeb could be toast by the time the South Carolina primary hits next spring. There are talking heads who think Bush could find a reason to drop out before the primaries start, if his poll numbers don’t rise rapidly.
America isn’t just angry on the right. There is anger on the left too.
While Democrats might be seen as more cohesive than Republicans in recent years, that doesn’t mean there isn’t frustration in their camp. Isn’t it ironic that the Black Lives Matter movement is taking off during the time when the U.S. has its first black president? Isn’t it odd that under this president, we’re seeing more minority unemployment, more on food stamps, more on welfare, more violence in the cities, etc.?
For all the hoopla over the ACA (ObamaCare):
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premiums are rising,
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state exchanges are imploding after hundreds of millions in losses,
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millions are still uninsured.
None of the grand ObamaCare expectations of money saved, promises of keeping your doctor or coverage are being met. The ACA/ObamaCare has never been popular with the majority of Americans. Yet we still have it. How is that democratic?
So of course there is anger, when so many politicos are not even talking about issues like ObamaCare that much.
We won’t tick through all the foreign and domestic policy issues, charges of corruption or mismanagement, that are the cause of the angst and anger on both sides of the political aisle.
Sufficient to say that when most Americans are seeing their incomes fall since 2007, those who are better off are in the minority. There is risk in that reality. But there are also opportunities…
Ignore the Anger at your Peril or Tap into it for Your Benefit
As an association member and supporter, we hear from those who are not in an association or those who are in, but are not happy.
Some see MH associations in almost political party terms. Establishment members, and the silent majority. Those in associations are seen by many as:
- the insiders, who are running the show,
- while the independents are marginalized or feel they are shut out.
The new MHI Chairman, Tim Williams, has said he wants to see changes to address those concerns. Certainly Don Glisson Jr, during his chairmanship wanted to see changes too.
The Next Move?
The correct moves might tap that energy that currently lies beyond any given association’s membership.
But it will take a real effort to bring professionals into associations who either don’t see the value of feel they are voiceless.
Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR)
On the MHARR side of the association aisle, MHARR CEO M. Mark Weiss, JD, has issued a white paper on how HUD has handled the MH program. We’ll share that in its entirety in the new November 2015 issue, which should be live by Sunday night. Note that a source at MHI tells the Masthead they’ll have a published position on this topic by Friday.
America, MH Associations and the MH Rank and File
On the Masthead, we often tee up an issue and then propose the solution. Today, let’s have the issue merely be. Lets speak what is, what others feel (as noted above), and then let you ponder or comment.
There is Anger in America, and Frustration by many in MHVille.
There is also apathy, which is a helpless cousin of anger. There is some affluence too, which the big deals that are cooking or the Carlyle deal noted above exemplify. But those big deals can actually fuel the apathy and anger. Thousands in MH, and tens of millions of Americans are mad as hell.
There is certainly opportunity in our economic and political malaise. But there is also risk.
…And you say…? ##
