During these difficult times for national builders, a feel-good story emerges from the organizations who gave us the concepts of fortified, age-restricted sprawling communities; McMansions and builder-based financing. In case you haven't heard, Pulte Homes is in the process of acquiring Centex. This will create the largest national home builder in the country (and most likely the world).
Hyper-capitalists everywhere are rejoicing!!! Perhaps we can continue to treat the land as a commodity and resume consuming it at an alarming rate!!!
Don't fire-up the mass-grading bandwagon just yet...I think I have some bad news for this sprawling mega-builder.
Perhaps the CEOs of the housing industry were too busy traversing the country in their private planes over the last few weeks to take notice of something that the new administration is fairly keen on...fixing failed business models.
I think that Rick Wagoner, the now former CEO of General Motors could give the new Pulex (which is a new company name that I freely offer the new mega-sprawler) some advice on revising their business plan.
Rick may begin by telling the building giant to steer clear of the "free-money-for-failed-hyper-capitalists" programs that the federal government has been funding over the past few months. That piece of advice would certainly be preceded by the caveat, things just ain't what they used to be.
Here's the real point; the housing industry needs to rethink their hyper-capitalist driven business models if they plan to survive.
This merger will not spur another housing boom. Sorry to burst the bubble before it even inflates, but if we think back about a year and a half, we should be able to remember that it was the national builders and the lending industry which started this economic downturn.
Here's another bubble-flattener; the new administration will not allow the widespread destruction of the American landscape in the name of hyper-capitalism. In fact, not since the 19th century has the federal government made a significant effort to fund and encourage public transportation projects.
What options does this leave our new friend Pulex? How about the opportunity to become the very first sustainable and equitable national home builder in the world.
Granted, the true meaning and practice sustainability and equity are foreign concepts to these folks. But let us imagine for a moment, a national homebuilder that creates truly sustainable site plans, encourages public transportation projects which connect their communities to urban cores, builds communities which encourage healthy living and social interaction and offer a diverse mix of housing types that people from every socio-economic status could afford.
Sounds nice, doesn't it. I'm certain that some hyper-capitalists are decrying the idea of such sustainable and equitable communities. They are most likely pulling out their latest mud-slinging terms; socialism, communists and the dreaded liberal.
But alas, I have some disturbing news for our hyper-capitalist brethren...these types of communities only embody one true political ideal; democracy.
Ahh yes, a concept which has become so clouded that a majority of people in this country don't even remember what it means. But let us remember that this great nation was founded (in theory at least) on the concepts of equality, fairness and opportunity.
These just happen to be the same ideals which drive the concept of creating equitable and sustainable communities. The time has come for a new approach to development in this nation, and Pulex has the incredible opportunity to lead that charge.
The question is, will they?
Instead of noblemen, let us have noble villages of men. -Henry David Thoreau
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