Democrats or Republicans ~ who has a better plan for housing recovery?

The housing market crash that has plagued the nation for the last half decade is, in many ways, responsible for the continuing recession that America faces.

Homeowners are continuing to be forced from their homes and home equity across the nation is dropping or stagnant in a majority of markets, at best, only spurring the trend of foreclosures in its wake. The result, if left unattended, will be millions of Americans left homeless in years to come and an economy struggling to recover from a bubble burst so bad that the likes of its devastation will dwarf the Great Depression. This is no small claim nor is it a small matter.

In response to the issue, Republicans have put forth their position as unwilling to intervene or assist. Republican presidential candidates have stated that they believe capitalism in its truest form should take hold of the market and the market should be allowed to collapse and find its own balance.

Many claim that government intervention is only prolonging the suffering and that there will not be a true recovery until the market is allowed to fully collapse on itself. While that may be a valid argument, it does have ramifications to the economy and indicates a widespread collapse in many sectors as the housing market is not just the housing market it is the financial backer of many individuals and small businesses who borrow against the equity of their home to make it through the rough periods.

There is also something to be said for the cold disregard for people that are caught in this crisis. By abandoning the housing market to crumple and rebuild itself, the home owners and families who need these homes are being left out in the cold without help. Republicans may say they want smaller government and less socialism but these actions are not responsible, compassionate or reflective of the attitudes in which America has been built.

Not intervening will save the government hundreds of billions of dollars but will continue to mean a sharp rise in homelessness, poverty, and unemployment, worse than what we have been seeing nationally already.

Is it not the duty of the government to serve its people? Creating a state of chaos and every man for himself is not serving its people.

Democrats have been acting to stimulate the economy, especially President Obama. There are mixed results at best so far as bailouts keep meeting too much red tape and are failing to provide for those who need them most. They are helping a great number of people though and it is difficult to gauge the damage that would have been done if these tax breaks on payroll, stimuli and tax breaks for homeowners, and other actions had not been done.

Early projections for the state of the economy without intervention indicate at least twice as many foreclosures and a sharp rise in unemployment. In essence the Democrats have taken on the spirit of action and movement in this scenario, taking the idea that it is better to act than to sit silently. Republicans have taken up the mantle of inaction and the idea that everything will work itself out better passively than if the government intervenes.

It is difficult to say which will work better in the long run because it is impossible to tell. No one can so perfectly predict the market ~ if they could they should be playing stocks instead.

What can be definitely said though is that the Democrats are not abandoning the interests of the common American citizen. It is a common necessity to live; having a home and enough to provide for yourself and your family, and it is easy to forget that every foreclosure is another family that no longer has either of these basics.

Author Jeff Hammerberg is the Founding CEO of www.GayRealEstate.com ~ Free Instant Access to the Nation’s Top Gay, Lesbian and Gay Friendly Realtors Coast to Coast.