I found it strange that this big house was being constructed around the corner from me on a fairly major street. I live in a suburban community that has been undergoing tremendous growth, leading to the destruction of much of the rural and semi-rural space, the elimination of countless numbers of trees, and an obnoxious increase in the amount of automobile traffic. While it was not surprising to see another house, this one seemed a bit out of place.

The house stands on a corner, right near a major intersection. There is nothing next to it. Behind it, however, are homes situated in my development. My neighbors watched as the house was being constructed, wondering why it was being built there and who would be moving in. It certainly looked - looks - like a nice house, but such a strange location. Noise abounded, and construction workers moved in and out, working on the building day after day.

And then one day, a few months ago, complete and total silence. The work stopped. It was eerie. Everything was left as if to say, “…to be continued…” The portable latrine used by the construction workers still stands there. The long driveway that was constructed for this house stands incomplete and filled with stones, an eyesore that abuts the yard of one of my neighbors. The house has not been finished and there is no sign that it will ever be.

We do not know, for sure, what happened, but our guess is that either the developer or the contractor went, financially speaking, belly up. This is happening around the country. Not only are homeowners facing unprecedented foreclosures, but this trickles down to the home builders. Someone does not get paid at all or in time and all of a sudden, the business that they had dangling by a string snaps and collapses altogether.

It is not just the subprime market we have been hearing so much about that is facing trouble. Yes, those individuals who were in precarious financial shape and borrowed under questionable terms are indeed facing serious challenges. It is infuriating to watch this. Loans that should never have been made, coupled with the lack of government oversight, has undermined the ability of thousands of families to enjoy what may have been the home of their dreams.

In addition to the subprime borrowers, however, there were many others who were hoodwinked into dubious loans. I don’t know about you, but I received countless calls every day asking me to refinance my home, often with variable rate mortgages or interest-only mortgages. These offers sounded great, but as the saying goes, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

So, the house around the corner stands as a monument to an economy gone mad - an economy that pays little attention to the working person who wants to enjoy a good life. We were suckered during the housing boom into believing that home values would continue to increase and that we could all make a mint either on the sale of our home or on the equity. Rather than preaching caution, we were bombarded with advertisements and infomercials that suggested nothing could go wrong.

I keep wondering who asked to have that house built around the corner and what they lost along with their dream.

Bill Fletcher, Jr. is Executive Editor of The Black Commentator. He is also a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies and the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum. Click here to contact Mr. Fletcher.

Your comments are always welcome.