25 October 11
Why we shouldn't be selling the right to live in America.
merica is having a fire sale. Why not sell wealthy foreigners the right to live here, too?
That's the notion behind a bill introduced last week
by Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah and Democrat Senator Charles
Schumer of New York: Stoke demand for American homes by allowing foreign
nationals to buy them. In return, give foreigners the right to live
here (although not work here).
The price? At least $500,000 cash. It could be one
piece of real estate costing $500,000 or more, or several - one would
have to be worth at least $250,000.
Presumably, this would help homeowners by boosting
demand. "This is a way to create more demand without costing the federal
government a nickel," Schumer told the Wall Street Journal.
And it would help the Street. Rather than have the big
banks carry all those non-performing mortgage loans on their books or
be forced to write them down, we'll just goose the housing market by
selling off the right to live in America. READ MORE
