After 3 days in Texas, flying in last night over the nighttime skies of Chicagoland was an amazingly thought provoking experience. All cities are different, and while you may find Wal-Mart and McDonald’s here and there, every city and town has its unique flavors. With another flight heading out West tonight, my ‘in depth’ report …
It is said that the origin for the following maxim was Scottish born James Kelly; “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” As an industry, if we have been fooled more than once, so that translates into shame on us. Let’s stop fooling ourselves, and take the shame of having …
Right or wrong – left, center or right – we are all influenced by the media. We may like or dislike someone in part because of how the media portrayal of that person has ‘shaped’ them in our minds. The same thing happens with housing. The public may like or dislike something or someone based …
Infinity, Boxer, Buchanan, Gorman, the Media and your MH Employees Read More »
There are times when discussions and lobbying with regulators may reach an impasse. If the matter is serious, for example, involving very costly matters, what can be done when such an impasse occurs? In theory, the options are many. They can include lining up public or elected officials support. Engaging the executive (governor, president etc.), …
I think it was Bob Dylan’s third album that had the lyrics, Oh The Times They Are a-Changin‘. This is as true today as it was when Dylan first sang it. I’ve spoken this past week with 4 well placed manufactured housing finance pros, not counting emails from others. While each had a unique take, …
‘Oh the times, they are a changin…’ and Manufactured Housing’s murky future Read More »
It was not long after this weekend’s “The Emperor has no Clothes” was posted that the questions started coming in. Among the more popular ones: ‘who is Michael Barnabas?’ ‘What does he do?’ ‘Which part of the Industry? ‘ And so on. Among the calls/emails comes the question, is Barnabas my wife? Soheyla Kovach’s name …
The number of sign ups for Tweets, Connections (Facebook and/or LinkedIn) for our twice weekly e-mailed news updates grows steadily. These are all great ways to stay up to date with what is happening in manufactured and modular housing, as we Tweet updates and have these other tools to help you ‘stay connected.’ Sign up …
Mail Bag, Calls, Tweets, Connections, Glitches and MH News Read More »
One of the books on my library shelf bears the intriguing title, “If it ain’t broke, Break it!”. We could talk about sacred cows, or similar metaphors. What we know is that advancing the manufactured housing/factory built home industry from it’s current doldrums will take changes. At the current rate if some 46,000 shipments (and …
Those who follow this blog know that we have been advocating that Thayer and Danny get their heads together as the respective Presidents of MHI and MHARR with the goal of advancing our Industry’s common issues. MHARR and MHI have done so before, on topics such as the GSEs and the Duty to Serve or …
Commentary about the National Manufactured Housing Associations Read More »
Lobbyists know the art of politics is in part about compromise. Even when strong positions are taken in public, behind the scenes, deals can get done. A key part of what MHI and MHARR does is lobbying. So do their leaders want to practice their arts with each other? What many of us want to …
