I have had to drive by a billboard near my home several times that almost infuriates me every time I see it. The billboard, an advertisement for a local home builder, reads something like this:

“Utah is the most financially sound state…Let’s all celebrate by buying a new home!”

Does anyone else see the glaring contradiction in that statement and feel like the home builder thinks we are idiots?

The first part infers that residents of Utah have either been really lucky in this recession or have made smart financial decisions avoiding much of the debt from which the rest of the nation has suffered. Part two says, “How about you all ruin that and take on new mortgages so that I can make some money off of those cash reserves?”

Sounds like a good time to me.