The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. ticked up this week to slightly above 7%, the highest level in eight months.

The rate rose to 7.04% from 6.93% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, it averaged 6.6%. It has risen for five straight weeks.

-----abcnews.go.com

Let's do something about it while we can. A lottery will generate 710 million dollars a year. C'mon, this ain't rocket science.