Dean M

U.S. Economic Recovery and the Housing Sector Mirage

I don't know about that, I think many of our most valuable lessons in life are forced on us.


On Nov 24 07:01 PM Jeff Nielson wrote:

> Hi Dean.
>
> To begin with, the reduction in credit for most Americans is not
> VOLUNTARY. You can't claim to have "learned " new behavior if it
> is simply forced on you.
>
> Second, "Cash for Clunkers" proves Americans have learned NOTHING.
> A million Americans bought vehicles they didn't NEED - with the automakers
> clawing-back all their "subsidies" through higher sticker prices
> - so that those car-buyers saved NOTHING! Most of the rest of the
> country cheered-on this idiocy.
>
> Again: not the slightest sign of Americans "learning" anything.<br/>
>
> Third, to believe that the U.S. economy is currently "growing" implies
> believing that an economy which became hopelessly insolvent through
> excessive borrowing-and-spending has been FIXED by even MORE-excessive
> borrowing-and-spending.
>
> Obviously anyone who believes this fantasy has clearly not learned
> the lesson of "buying things they can't pay for".
>
> The fact that Americans are not DEMANDING the resignation of their
> entire government for CREATING a NEW subprime sector (100%-backed
> by taxpayer dollars) - while the U.S. housing sector is STILL plummeting
> downward from the collapse of the original bubble - shows that most
> Americans have learned nothing.

U.S. Economic Recovery and the Housing Sector Mirage

How can you make that claim when the graph you presented shows that Americans are reducing their debt levels for the first time in 40 years?

"Sadly, Americans apparently have still not learned the lesson that buying things, but not paying for them cannot possibly be the basis for a solvent economy, let alone a healthy one. "

Vanguard's Bogle: Buy and Hold Is Alive and Well

Abandoning buy and hold is like rejecting consumerism and increasing savings, it makes sense on an individual level but if we all do it then we're all probably screwed.