It's official:US Housing Crisis Is Now Worse Than Great Depression

[petercook7]

It's official

It's official: The housing crisis that began in 2006 and has recently entered a double dip is now worse than the Great Depression.

Prices have fallen some 33 percent since the market began its collapse, greater than the 31 percent fall that began in the late 1920s and culminated in the early 1930s, according to Case-Shiller data.

The news comes as the Federal Reserve considers whether the economy has regained enough strength to stand on its own and as unemployment remains at a still-elevated 9.1 percent, throwing into question whether the recovery is real.

"The sharp fall in house prices in the first quarter provided further confirmation that this housing crash has been larger and faster than the one during the Great Depression," Paul Dales, senior economist at Capital Economics in Toronto, wrote in research for clients.

nothing much to say.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/US-Hou...&asset=&ccode=

Maybe time to bail out of any banking shares and start to find alternatives to save your money. now just waiting on greece to default, yummy.

[aidanjt]

How could it do anything else while the little people have nothing to fall back on to feed the top 10% wealth sucking machine?

[Michael]

Petercook7, your pessimism upsets me. Go read a Paulo Coelho book or watch a kid playing or something. The world is not evil and neither is big business. And big business is not the world.

[kalniel]

What's the point of comparing it to the great depression? Hasn't the world changed economically since the 1920s?

[peterb]

Alternatively, a great time to buy a house (in the US, which is where the news story originated)

[aidanjt]

Not while housing prices are still depreciating.

[santa claus]

.....alternatives to save your money.

Any suggestions please petercook7?

[aidanjt]

Rounding up all the politicians and their cronys and put them up against the wall. Everything else is rigged to screw you.

[TheAnimus]

to feed the top 10% wealth sucking machine?

Everything else is rigged to screw you.

Someone working in the red light district?

[kalniel]

Someone working in the red light district?

I thought the other thread was talking about inflation...

/coat.

[aidanjt]

Someone working in the red light district?

Yes, the bottom 90% are substantially less wealthy because they're lazy and feckless. Right? And the top 10% are wealthy because they bust their asses with hard work with their selves rolled up.. Right?

[peterb]

Not while housing prices are still depreciating.

Depends if you are buying a house as an investment or for somewhere to live.

Yes, the bottom 90% are substantially less wealthy because they're lazy and feckless. Right? And the top 10% are wealthy because they bust their asses with hard work with their selves rolled up.. Right?

Or the top 10% are wealthy because they are providing employment for the other 90% and taking the risk if the business fails. There is nothing to stop anyone starting a business in their own right.

Not true in the case of a public limited company of course, where the owners of the business are the shareholders.

[aidanjt]

Depends if you are buying a house as an investment or for somewhere to live.

In either eventually you can lose out badly. You could end up with a house with a higher mortgage than its market value in a few years and have shrinking wages and inflating living costs.

Rubbish time to buy property for anything.

Or the top 10% are wealthy because they are providing employment for the other 90% and taking the risk if the business fails. There is nothing to stop anyone starting a business in their own right.

And making several times the profit off their backs, and in reality carrying no risk at all because the employees will bail them out when they screw up, either through slashed wages, redundancies, tax relief (which is already ridiculously minimal), government investment, or any number of ways. As I said, the game is rigged. That's why the same families carry on with ever amounting levels of wealth and power.

[TheAnimus]

In either eventually you can lose out badly. You could end up with a house with a higher mortgage than its market value in a few years and have shrinking wages and inflating living costs.

So if in 20 years time it turns out it was a low, then you'll just be complaining about those who are wealthy.

And making several times the profit off their backs, and in reality carrying no risk at all because the employees will bail them out when they screw up, either through slashed wages, redundancies, tax relief (which is already ridiculously minimal), government investment, or any number of ways.

you know you had made a fair point earlier, about the 10%. How much of that is hereditary? How many people are simply born in to a perpetuating life style no matter how badly they behave, work etc. I know friends from uni who's parents have bought them flats which will mean they have a much better life style than someone earning more than them, just because they have no housing costs.

I guess life ain't fair!

But at least certain things can be changed, there is nothing stopping you coming up with the next facebook or just doing a job far better than most other people and charging a lot of money for it!

Or you could just bitch on the internet about how bad everything is whilst doing nothing posative to resolve the things you complain about.

[aidanjt]

So if in 20 years time it turns out it was a low, then you'll just be complaining about those who are wealthy.

Hardly. Also, useless speculation is useless. Both in economic terms as well as making arguments.

But at least certain things can be changed, there is nothing stopping you coming up with the next facebook or just doing a job far better than most other people and charging a lot of money for it!

Or you could just bitch on the internet about how bad everything is whilst doing nothing posative to resolve the things you complain about.

I already addressed this:

Yes, the bottom 90% are substantially less wealthy because they're lazy and feckless. Right? And the top 10% are wealthy because they bust their asses with hard work with their selves rolled up.. Right?

Even if *everyone* could come up with 'the next facebook' or whatever, the economy would hyperinflate and return the bottom 90% to their 'rightful place' again. The game is rigged. The truth is capitalism is just a modern form of serfdom. And those same families who lorded over the peasants are the same as those who profit from the lower and middle classes. Because they're the people who wrote the rules for the game, and continue to do so. It's the same pyramid scheme with modern packaging.

[b0redom]

And making several times the profit off their backs, and in reality carrying no risk at all because the employees will bail them out when they screw up, either through slashed wages, redundancies, tax relief (which is already ridiculously minimal), government investment, or any number of ways. As I said, the game is rigged. That's why the same families carry on with ever amounting levels of wealth and power.

Really? So let's say I invest a chunk of my own cash into my fledgling business (and I don't have a rich mummy or daddy to bankroll me). As part of that I work stupid hours to get it off the ground, weekends, nights, 18 hours/day etc etc. Some loans in order to buy capital assets, or leases on properties require personal guarentees.

I then employ you as an employee at 40 hours per week. You expect sick cover, maternity/paternity pay, holiday, possibly training, pension. I have to pay employers NIC contributions etc etc etc. You expect to be paid every month without pay regardless of how the business is performing.

Explain to me how if the business fails, you as my employee are going to bail me out? Are you going to remortgage your house to help bail out the business? How about if I make you redundant? How does that help me? I have to find redundancy money, and then I have to do the work that you were doing too.

There is nothing to stop you setting up your own company if you have the right idea.