I suggest that there is one more aspect to this financial meltdown (William Kristol has a note on “a genuine and immediate crisis” at http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/636zbhel.asp), one that will not so easily be solved by buyouts: that is, Demography. A lot of the increase in price for houses through the western world has been a sellers’ market, fueled by huge numbers of Boomer buyers. Well, the people born in 1945 are 63 years old now, and are in the process of selling those expensive houses for condos.. creating a new kind of market, one with more sellers than buyers because the post boomer generation is smaller than its older cohort.

In other words, the oncoming avalanche of Social Security, Medical Expenses, etc, is being compounded by something unexpected: all those boomers selling their large homes. Also, did you know that the 1970s home is HALF the size of the contemporary home?

Throughout the Boomer generations’ time on this planet, things have just gotten better and better. Maybe until now???

Just another cheery thought from someone whose life savings are in mutual funds…