Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Like a catapult

Why is the current housing/mortgage crisis like being shot out from a catapult?

There are several ways:

  1. The damage is really done during the ride up - but it's only recognized once you start down.
  2. Once you're launched, it's really, really hard to see how it's going to end well.
  3. And if you don't know what's coming at the end, the ride up can be pretty exhilarating.
The lesson here is that it's going to be nearly impossible to stop all this from unwinding - the time to do that was before we climbed on to Greenspan's catapult.

1 comment:

Hawa Bond said...

I came here via a comment you left at Robert Reich's blog. I like the way you countered Robert's point by declaring 'let the victims of foreclosure become renters so housing prices can fall to normal levels.'

I was lucky to purchase a townhouse back in 1999 and my mortgage is less than local rent. But I can't upgrade to a home with property because of the unbelievable cost of homes (I'm in NJ).

If it wasn't so sad, waiting for the outcome of this mess would be like watching a nail-biting thriller.

Hawa from
Fackin Truth Blog