Weekly Info 02/03/2012

In a double surprise, the job market may at last have begun to revive, but the double-the-forecast, 243,000-job surge in January has done little harm to mortgages. We are still near 4.00%; 10-year T-notes up from 1.82%, but holding nicely at 1.95%. Housing hangs over everything in the US economy, all measures of prices in continuing decline through December. But, to his great credit, Mr. Obama devoted a speech this week to housing, including new proposals. "This housing crisis struck right at the heart of what it means to be middle class in America: our homes." Right! The proposals will be without effect, but that's not Mr. Obama's fault. That two years have passed without proposals or priority or even mention, that is his fault, but give him full praise for saying out loud: "Hey, there's an elephant in this living room!" Why there are no effective proposals, and why it's beyond even the President's power to put them forward is a tale of human nature. We know perfectly well what to do, but several things in ourselves and our political process prevent action.