Give a U.S. citizen a dollar and he or she will spend two. Thanks to this mentality, the prices of homes have sky rocketed over the last few years. Now the local governments can collect more in property tax while thumbing their noses at us. I have always bought with cash and have never borrowed money, not even when I bought my house. I have since sold my house and am now waiting for the housing market to collapse. It is taking far longer than I expected, but I know I am doing the right thing by renting. I will be patient and I know the right time will come for me to buy when I return to San Diego. I harbor no sympathy for those who were irresponsible enough to drive the prices of homes up by latching on to free money. I hope interest rates go to double digits and home prices plummet like never before. I will then chuckle at the state while watching the avaricious local authorities try to manage spending with less property tax revenue. My earnest hope is that people will start treating home ownership as something they should strive to pay off and live in for the sake of having shelter not as an investment that yields the state more in tax revenue.