1.6 Million foreclosures in the first six months..

On the basis of Realtytrac figures, the Washington Post, Reuters, and MSN are reporting that 1.6 Million homes have entered the foreclosure process in the first half of 2010.  Bloomberg is reporting that 18.9 Million homes are now vacant in the United States.  Home ownership rates are apparently at their lowest levels in a decade.  Below is a screen shot from Realtytrac covering Whatcom County. It lists a total of 685 foreclosed homes. June 2010 added 105 homes to that total.:

We will not 'recover' from this downturn until we start supporting a full employment economy.  Six months ago, I outlined what I think the President must do to create job growth in this country. I realized today that I support those thoughts now more than ever.  FDR had a term for the elite of America that did not support the development of a strong middle class. He called them "economic royalists".  Today, we are faced we a demand side depression that only massive government intervention can solve.  Control and direction of economic production IS the mechanism to stimulate a malfunctioning capitalist economy.  Barack Obama needs to act unilaterally NOW before it is too late. The massive and traditional stimulus monies are not sufficient enough to save us from economic conflagration.   We need a stronger command and control economy that directs economic production and the redistribution of wealth into the economic cycle before it is too late.