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Han

" wrote in news:de2db6ae-
:

As an example, in the recent housing bubble,
everyone got the idea that housing was a great investment, that
it could only go up. The government helped, by subsidizing real
estate with huge tax breaks, requiring lenders to make loans
in low income areas regardless of credit worthiness and keeping
interest rates very low.

In response to that, demand for housing increased, causing prices
to rise in response. Exactly how markets behave following the
most basic rules of economics.

Exactly, on the surface. Dig a little deeper and greed, stupidity and
abdication of responsibility played much bigger roles than "markets". But
I dont think we'll ever agree amongst all of us who bears the most
responsibility. Suffice it to say that the housing bubble wasn't uniform
over the US, and certainly not over all developed countries. Therefore,
either the markets were differentially manipulated, or some countries had
"better" regulation than others.

--
Best regards
Han
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