The folks at The Daily Reckoning mentioned yesterday vis-a-vis the Housing Bubble: “…What a run it has been. The Center for Economic and Policy Research reports that the housing market added $5 trillion in ‘bubble wealth’ to the American economy, an amount equal to $70,000 for a family of four. That is the fraudulent money that has sustained Americans at a standard of living they cannot really afford. It is the source of the illusion that the U.S. economy is growing and healthy. It was psuedo-wealth, an asset that really didn’t exist. Too bad so many people spent it. “House Party, Finally Over?” asks the Financial Times. We don’t know the answer. Maybe it is over today. Maybe it will be over tomorrow. Our advice to readers: Don’t be the last ones to leave.”
Set aside a weekend afternoon to read Bill Bonner’s book “Financial Reckoning Day”, or if you are lousy cheapskate at least go through the archives at The Daily Reckoning web site. Their site has a wealth of information on general economics and the inevitable precious metals commentary. They have an excellent free daily e-mail newsletter.)