From SHTF Daily comes this sobering article and accompanying CBS News video clip: Builders Giving Up On The Sinking Market. Now it is not just defaulting buyers that are “walking away.” The article indicates a loss of “$1.2 trillion from the value of American homes. And the losses are mounting, going to $4 trillion by one estimate, by the end of next year.”One observation on the video clip: Is wearing one’s baseball cap backwards a key indicator of sub-prime borrowing, sub-prime intelligence, or both? I’d hate to tell that real estate “investor” what sort of house and how much acreage $597,000 would have bought him in western Wyoming. Certainly a lot more than his postage stamp lot in suburban California. Maybe he could raise some fish in that swimming pool, so that he’ll have extra cash on hand for when his 2/28 adjustable rate mortgage resets next year and his house payment jumps by $1,000 per month.
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A recent blog post about a five-hour shutdown of an eastern US highway has implications for anyone planning to “Get Out of Dodge” (G.O.O.D.) at the eleventh hour, by car or truck. Be sure to pick your routes carefully.Your main intended route should be on secondary roads. Also be sure to identify a couple of alternate routes.
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Reader MGB pointed us to a interesting series of posts from AlphaGeek that ran on DailyKOS in 2005. (Back during Hurricane Katrina): Are YOU ready for disaster?
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The ever-watchful Steven in Iraq sent us this: Banks to set up $80 billion fund to limit credit crunch