June 25, 2007

Any Questions?

When we as a country no longer build homes, millions go unemployed.

When we as a country have rampant unemployment, local economies collapse.

When we as a country have local economies collapsing, housing values plummet.

When we as a country have plummeting housing prices, millions face bankruptcy, foreclosure and unemployment.






hat-tip papermoney for the chart

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

MURST!

The Thinker said...

Yes, that is the power of momentum. Just as housing gains spurred the continued housing boom, housing losses will spur the decline. It takes a lot to reverse a trend. This unwinding will take some time.

Roccman said...

Top bank (read Illuminate Bank) the Bank of International Settlements says depression dead ahead.

http://tinyurl.com/35moqq

"The Bank for International Settlements, the world's most prestigious financial body, has warned that years of loose monetary policy has fuelled a dangerous credit bubble, leaving the global economy more vulnerable to another 1930s-style slump than generally understood.

"Virtually nobody foresaw the Great Depression of the 1930s, or the crises which affected Japan and Southeast Asia in the early and late 1990s. In fact, each downturn was preceded by a period of non-inflationary growth exuberant enough to lead many commentators to suggest that a 'new era' had arrived", said the bank."

Now chuck in Peak Oil and welcome to the die off.

Cheers

Anonymous said...

Sorry, but housing is just one of many segments of the US economy.

While many will lose their jobs and have to find new ones if a housing correction occurs (and it currently is occuring) and illegals will have to go back to washing dishes and picking lettuce, suggesting our entire economy will collapse because of this is just tin foil hat time.

This also won't be happening overnight. Housing corrections can take years and it spreads out the pain inflicted.

Anonymous said...

Keith, why did you stop there?

You forgot:

Property and income taxes will not be paid in anywhere near the amounts of today.

When facing foreclosure and bankruptcy, millions will liquidate stock and retirement holdings (as allowed) just to survive, causing a downturn in the stock market.

We may not have an implosion of the financial system, but I think a couple week "freeze" is inevitable at some point.

That said, giving Ron Paul $200 this week, and encouraging others to do the same. He should appreciate the significance of the amount. ;-)

Roccman said...

And a confirmed Hindenburg Omen...clock has started...41 days and counting till crash time (or sooner)...Bear Staerns started a shakeout of CDO's...

Better get out while you can.

http://www.safehaven.com/article-7823.htm

Anonymous said...

In 2000 millions of people lost their jobs in tech. What followed was a mild recession. Get a grip.

Anonymous said...

Keith,

You forgot the last line of reasoning.

When everything can't get any worse, we renters move in and buy at firesale prices.

Anonymous said...

So true.

What makes it worse is that much
of our economic prosperity was
based on cheap exploitive labor.

The Thinker said...
Yes, that is the power of momentum. Just as housing gains spurred the continued housing boom, housing losses will spur the decline. It takes a lot to reverse a trend. This unwinding will take some time.

Anonymous said...

That's right - there will be buyers waiting for houses being sold at firesale prices. But this will only happen once these stubborn idiots capitulate.

What kind of a world will be living in when even brainless optimists have thrown in the towel?

Anonymous said...

I've been waiting to get a suburban property since '05. Prices went out of control from $80K to $300K. Now things are starting to drop. I don't care about the house I am currently in. I've been in it for 23 years and paid little. It will be hard to lose on that one. But FRUSTRATION! Boy! I can't make a move because of all this greed. On top of that, I'm getting older and it just won't pay to get one if it takes too long to wind down.

Adam said...

NPR ran a great radio show on Neil Conan's "Talk of the Nation", with guests Ilyce Glink (publisher of the Web site ThinkGlink.com and author of the nationally syndicated newspaper column "Real Estate Matters") and Dean Baker (economist and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research).

They offer common-sense advice on housing, taking on some of the old chestnuts that are thrown around by the REIC bulls:

http://tinyurl.com/37wk57

It's worth a listen, as common-sense gets some mainstream exposure for a change.

Anonymous said...

Ultimately, that is what they are really afraid of, a bunch of unemployed construction workers who are deep in debt and with nothing to do. (IMHO)

Anonymous said...

What will the masses of illegal alien homebuilders do? Will they go home or turn to crime? Picking strawberries does not pay as well as construction.

Anonymous said...

if it is true that "housing" has accounted for 40-60% of jobs created in the last 7 years then an impact will be felt.

Unknown said...

I've got a grip for you, anonopussy. Since Greenspam inflated us out of two recessions, in '98 and after dot-com/911, we are now in line for a depression, with a worthless dollar and 30% unemployment, and since the only reason we have cheap food is because of cheap gas, we might even have mass starvation, especially if that drought in the midwest keeps going.

There is a grip for you, some kung fu grip.

Planted your potatoes yet?

King of the Bitter Renters

Anonymous said...

Arizona had a govenor who wore tin foil hats about 12 years back, in order to keep the radio waves that he thought were being directed at him from scrambling his already heat addled brain, he replaced
the convicted and pardoned "crook" govenor and was tossed out of office. Those were the days of the savings and loan collapse and house price declines and the cast of characters who paid mother teresa" for religious cover and sanctitys to distract the sheeple from the lootings that were occuring, perhaps next time..soon?? we will yhink of mother teresa as paris Hilton...not!!!????

Anonymous said...

kurt you need a hobby my friend