Unemployment is a factor in home purchases that industry leaders such as Cavco Industries Chairman and CEO, Joe Stegmayer, cites as a reason for the current level of home buying. While millions have reportedly given up on finding work, others have taken their case public, with a recent example at the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole WY conference, where Reuters tells MHProNews that Reginald Rounds and others called for action to create economic growth and jobs.
Rounds is a St. Louis area resident, 57 and says he is trained in green technology, but can’t find a job. “From the world where I reside, there is no recovery. We need a boost. We need a jump start,” said Rounds. “The key is jobs creation.”
Rounds was one of 10 who made the trip to protest, part of a 70 organization coalition, that also released an open letter to Federal Reserve officials urging them to hold off on interest rate hikes until wages and jobs showed gains.
The 10 activists managed face time with senior officials. On Thursday, they spoke conference host Esther George for 2 hours. George is the President of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. On Friday, Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer stepped out of a meeting to spend ten minutes to listen to the pleas of Rounds and his associates.
As regular Daily Business News readers know, Rand Ghayad recently raised the topic of Dodd-Frank’s role in a Huffington Post OpEd, for more details, click here. The Collingwood Group’s Tim Rood recently pointed out on CNBC that current dynamics were keeping some 5 to 6 million home buyers on the sidelines. In factory built housing, the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) says that every home built represents one new job, so if Rood is correct, 5 to 6 million jobs could be added to the work force by having a more pro-housing and less restrictive regulations from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. ##
(Photo Credit: Reuters/David Stubbs)
