BC Teachers have voted 87% to escalate the strike...

[Mash]

House prices are driven upward by people who buy a monthly payment rather than focussing on what a house should cost. And these people will sign up for the highest payment they can swing.

Then both husband & wife work, and they spend every penny. Which makes them more vulnerable than a single-earner family when a downturn occurs.

Contractors also play the perceived value & status games, which a lot of people seem to find irresistable.

I always used a Pugh Matrix when looking at houses, and I could not get my daughter interested in using one for house-hunting.... until one of her friends was learning about Pugh Matricies in class.

[bobsticks]

This is such a transparent abdication of responsibility by an entire generation...

[Mash]

I'm afraid I have NO idea what you are referring to, bs.

How old are you, anyway? Are you young, will you always have perfect health, and are you generally bullet-proof?

If Obamacare bothers you so much (but you did not specifically indicate this) then I presume you will also forgo Social Security and Medicare (?). The latter two are just more evil universal mandate programs.... wait, maybe you are already paying in? You better stop that, then.

But I sense that one day (assuming you are in the USA) that you will be mighty glad to have Social Security and Medicare. But, then again, maybe not..............

[Mash]

Subprime came later in life, Feanor. The housing party was well underway by then. But the punch bowl needed a good spike to keep the party hot, and subprime did this nicely.

(Example: House prices were hot from c1975 to c1990. Can you believe price increases of more than 3.1X?)

[bobsticks]

I'm afraid I have NO idea what you are referring to, bs.

Mmhmm...

How old are you, anyway? Are you young, will you always have perfect health, and are you generally bullet-proof?

41; perfect health though that doesn't matter since I'll have no options on my coverage; history has shown that I am indeed not bullet-proof.

If Obamacare bothers you so much (but you did not specifically indicate this) then I presume you will also forgo Social Security and Medicare (?).

I presume that one or both will be unavailable by the time I'm eligible...so do the Social Security Trustees and the U.S. Treasury.

The latter two are just more evil universal mandate programs.... wait, maybe you are already paying in? You better stop that, then.

I think the phrase "75-year open group unfunded obligation" is a better phrase..."actuarially unsound and irresponsible Ponzi scheme" is even better...

But I sense that one day (assuming you are in the USA) that you will be mighty glad to have Social Security and Medicare. But, then again, maybe not..............

That's a big assumption but it's a possibility. In the meantime I keep the following close to my heart:

Social Security is the largest source of income for most elderly Americans today, but Social Security was never intended to be your only source of income when you retire. You also will need other savings, investments, pensions or retirement accounts to make sure you have enough money to live comfortably when you retire.

If only more of the Boomers had...

[Feanor]

House prices are driven upward by people who buy a monthly payment rather than focussing on what a house should cost. And these people will sign up for the highest payment they can swing.

Then both husband & wife work, and they spend every penny. Which makes them more vulnerable than a single-earner family when a downturn occurs.

Contractors also play the perceived value & status games, which a lot of people seem to find irresistable.

I always used a Pugh Matrix when looking at houses, and I could not get my daughter interested in using one for house-hunting.... until one of her friends was learning about Pugh Matricies in class.

High house prices were fostered by easy credit, including subprime mortgages, and low mortgage rates.

The Federal Reserve under Alan Greenspan dictated ever lower interest rates since 2001 and he himself actively encourage homeowners to borrow against the equity in their homes. It was all done to simulated consumer demand and hence sustain an economy where real incomes were declining. It was patently a desperate measure. For a while it looked OK because in flation looked low by conventional measures such as the CPI. But in reality a vast financial asset bubble was bening created that burst in 2007-08.

Alan Greenspan, long-time Ayn Rand disciple, eventually conceded he was a fool to believe that self-interest would keep big players from harming themselves let alone the nation and the world economy.