Still Renting

Winners and Losers from the Mortgage Mess

People forget that a recession affects people, and people are not machines. They are emotional beings. I think of the recession as an armour piercing round shot at an economy/culture that is a tank with armour plating. Now, if the plating holds, there is not much damage. If, however, the round has enough velocity, and the plating is not thick enough, the round penetrates the armour, incinerating everyone inside.

We have had many recessions in my lifetime and many before. One particular one actually allowed the round to penetrate the armour, giving us the great depression and WWII.

That risk is always there. The question, every time, is, will it penetrate this time?

This affects families. Families will suffer hardship. Money may not buy happiness, but the lack of it can bring a lot of misery. Misery brings an increase in divorce, domestic violence, substance abuse, murder, crime, etc. We have yet to see how this will play out. I'll be watching the alt-a fallout with interest.