by Mj Ferruzza

Created on: March 19, 2007   Last Updated: April 19, 2007

Much of Indiana is rural. Most of Indiana is blue collar. All of Indiana should be alarmed. Indiana leads the nation on the foreclosure of mortgages on homes. There are quite a few reasons this rate has sky rocketed over the past few decades, but none more evident than housing costs outweighing the average Indiana worker's wage. Many Hoosiers fell for the lucrative sub-prime home loan mortgage pitches offered in the newspaper, TV and on radio. But as interest rates jumped, so did the loan payments on these mortgages. A $900/month mortgage becomes a $1,700/month payment very quickly. Add the fact that an illness or job loss will increase the chance of foreclosure.

Let's do the math: The average salary in Indiana is $22,000. The average home cost is $165,000. That means the mortgage payment for a 30 year loan will be around $1,100 a month or $13,200 a year.
That would leave a single bread winner around $9,000 for taxes, food, insurance, utilities, clothes, and the other living expenses.
The government sees this and expects the average Hoosier to:
1. Hold 2 (or more) jobs.
2. Marry and/or have a working partner.
3. Get roommate/s.
4. Have few or no children and save more disposable income to pay higher housing costs.

There are no high paying industries coming to Indiana anytime in the foreseeable future. Indiana will never be the next Silicon Valley. Not all Indiana residents are farmers who could benefit from growing corn or soy beans to use as bio-fuels. What the government must know is Indiana is the Heartland of America. When a State filled with low to middle class citizens falls into poverty and financial ruin, so goes the nation. There may be a change on the horizon, but economically it is not going to be as pretty as an Indiana sunset.

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