Originally Posted by
Logen Ninefingers
Central Banks caused the 'housing disaster' through their desire to stoke a 'wealth effect' via artificially inflating asset prices.
They do this by suppressing interest rates and printing money. Started in the US, and the disease has spread around the Western world.
Forget about sovereignty, we follow the lead of the US Federal Reserve, without question.
Interest rates have been at absurdly low levels for about 12 years now, and this is totally due to Central Bank actions. Markets do not fuction: they are distorted by Central Bank bond buying, Central Bank Interest rate suppression, Central Bank money printing.
We don't have capitalism any more, not when savers are smashed and housing borrowers and zombie corporations have joined the 'too big to fail club'. This is an age of bail-outs for all....all with money and assets that is....and devil take you if you don't have either.
The biggest contribution Western governments have made to the housing madness is via mass immigration - a lazy way of increasing GDP growth.
Eventually we will have increasing unrest and even more socialism...renters cannot cope with the constant increases as it is & future generations are of course not part of the looting of the financial system that is going on at the moment - they will be stuck with the bill while locked out of securing assets. Only a rich Mummy and Daddy can bridge the gap. Say goodbye to any notion of egalitarianism.
So cheer on your rising house price, and put your head in the sand and say it's due to "lack of supply" while interest rates are at the lowest levels in history. Meanwhile capitalism dies & socialists / communists will point to the system (a system actually now hijacked by Central Banks) and say "it doesn't work", and huge numbers of people will start agreeing with them. Social unrest will be the driver for change. Do we want to see private property ownership disappear due to the greed of a couple of generations of people who didn't challenge Central Bank actions because they thought "we are getting rich!".....