Being retired, I normally have the luxury of coming down to the coffee shop every morning, reading the papers, and doing what I'm doing now. I normally park in a shopping center parking lot which is free. Lately I have noticed more than one RV parked there. They are normally gone by 8.30 am as people start to come and shop and the local parking police start their rounds marking tires.
These are obviously people who are living in these mobile homes. Who knows where they're from, where they're headed or how long they've been living in these vehicles. But it is my experience that this is on the rise and seems to make complete sense given the home foreclosures, job losses and such.
This morning's Wall Street Journal has a related story about RV's. It writes about Elkhart Indiana, this was the place Obama visited in February in a photo op to push the stimulus bill. The RV industry amounts to about 25% of Elkhart's economy and when the crisis hit, it hit hard. The unemployment rate in Elkhart back then was about 18% and we know these are always very conservative figures.
In November the town's unemployment rate fell to 14% according to officials estimates. The decline is is apparently due to the increase in RV sales.
It is hard for me to believe that people are buying RV's in this economy in order to go on trips around the country. My guess is that people are getting together all the cash and assets they can after losing their home or simply walking away from it as more and more people are reportedly doing even if they can cover the mortgage. This is actually a major shift in consciousness, this trashing of what I have heard termed "debt loyalty" as folks are refusing to pay mortgages that are nothing but interest payments to the usurers on a loan that is higher than their home's value. It is a reflection of the hatred and contempt people have for moneylenders.
Instead, they are taking that money and buying RV's.After all, you get a tax right off for any interest you pay on that loan also. Who knows. But I do not think this can be ruled out and makes sense to me.
Funny, though, the Wall Street Journal doesn't consider this option. For them, it's a sign of a growing economy.
1 comment:
I too would guess that the RV lifestyle is a less expensive, alternative lifestyle for some who suddenly find themselves jobless or with houses they can't afford. They may be purchasing used, though, instead of new. People who purchase RVs still have a roof over their head. They can stay in less expensive RV parks, blacktop boondock or go where there is work. That's a lot more flexible than having a house or apartment.
More power to them!
Jaimie Hall Bruzenak
author of Support Your RV Lifestyle! An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road
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