Most of the media, and much of academia, are in the business of creating & perpetuating positive feedback loops–otherwise known as vicious circles.

When housing prices are going up 10%/year, they come up with all kinds of reasons why the prices will keep going up at this rate forever and all days wiill now be filled with sunshine.

And when the economy is having problems, they develop analyses that emphasize the negative side of things.

No one wants to be left out of either the eurphoria or the gloom. This herd behavior surely makes cycles more violent than they would otherwise be.