" How much did your home or rent increase since Covid nitemare started."
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Excellent question, Scott. Some of the answers are startling. Let's take home prices as an example.
I live in within 3 hours of Manhattan. Beginning about mid-to-late 2020, as media and govt methodically and regularly stoked unreasonable Covid panic and fear among the public (another subject entirely), mentally paralyzed and frightened New Yorkers with gobs of money started buying houses in my and neighboring states.
A bucolic log cabin with classic screened porch and green tin roof, without heat, running water, or electricity, on 4 acres of wooded hillside, sitting 200 feet from an 8 acre pond, sold in 2018 for $115,000. It sold for $235,000 September 2020.
What physical elements of the property caused it's value to increase by 103% in two years? The place still had no heat, no running water, no electricity. No improvements had been undertaken; no replacement of a few rotted logs, no replacement of even the creaky old screen door (a classic throwback to my childhood days).
Two and only two factors caused the 103% increase. Greed by seller. Fear by owner. These elements caused rich NY-ers to snatch up similar -and even mid-to-high six figure properties- like wildfire. This opened the floodgates, and prices are still astronomically high with no indication of ever returning to earth or normalcy.
To a degree, the same principle holds with vehicle prices. Greed and fear fueled price increases. But there's a third influence. Government response to Covid. We now know the practice of shutting down businesses and shutting in Americans (effectively house arrest) was wildly ineffective and even more wildly destructive to America; financially, mentally, physically, politically.
(For example, on May 20, 2020 the CDC published a review of 46 years of global mask studies. CDC concluded masks were of "little to no effective use" in stopping flu transmission.
Pandemic Influenza—Personal Protective Measures
wwwnc.cdc.gov
And yet, after saying masks didn't work, CDC did a 180 and insisted everyone, even toddlers, wear masks. CDC is just now finally admitting masks really don't work as they told everyone they did.)
Govt "stay at home" orders impacted worker attendance at auto mfgrs. Less production line workers meant less cars/trucks being made. New car buyers who didn't want to wait 18 months for a new car started buying used cars. Supply and demand took over, giving us the astonishing prices we still see today.
I'm an old fashioned guy. Just because I can get $5,000 more for my (insert item here) because the world's gone stark raving mad doesn't mean I want to gouge my fellow man. Just because everyone is telling the Emperor his new clothes look kingly, doesn't mean I'm going to agree with them.
There's something happening here. What it is, is exactly clear. A deliberately induced panic has taken hold of and destructively influenced the public at large, causing everyday, normal people who'd never think of taking advantage of others to become opportunistically greedy; and justify their action by blaming it on Covid.
Covid didn't cause rent, home, or vehicle price increases. Government policy did. It was govt policy that closed businesses and told people to stay home. It was media disinformation and fear mongering that brought the mask Nazi's out of the woodwork. More than anything, though, it may've been that little voice on one shoulder saying
"Go ahead. Do it. Everyone else is. No one will ever find out."
Ah, but it's written,
"There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed on the last day."
And that's what we should all be aware of and work to avoid any unpleasant surprises on that day.
GLWS, Scott. It's a neat little truck camper.
