Lillies & Living

Thursday, July 13, 2023

Yesterday, the season’s first Sego Lillies popped up at my place. It’s exciting to spot them and especially this summer after their non-appearance last year. This photo is not-so-good, an evening shot lacking adequate details of these beauties. In this morning’s brightness, I’ll capture new images.

My friend Julie Gilbert and I got together yesterday and looked at a single-family home. It’s a manufactured home on this community’s far east side. It’s located on 18 mostly-wooded acres, and its sale price is nearly a million dollars. Today’s market continues to discourage dreams of selling high and buying low.

It also discourages most first-time middle-class buyers. Most won’t qualify for million-dollar loans and also wouldn’t want to assume overly burdensome mortgages through many years. Today’s skyrocketing home-buying market changes how young people are planning their futures. Without adequate work opportunities supporting today’s higher living costs, more young people choose not to marry and have children.

Another trend is toward tiny homes. That may encourage home buying without particularly supporting family living.

So, no means of supporting home buying and family life influences today’s potential workers. Many chose to work fewer hours or somehow not work at all. Businesses having trouble filling jobs must deal with supply chain and product availability issues.

My part-time work keeps me among the public and acutely aware of this puzzle. Yesterday, our quick look at a million-dollar manufactured home for sale drives these points: populations are greater, resources are shorter, social choices are different, and maybe forever.

Dear Friends: These are global issues greatly challenging all economies. Diana