A Think Piece: Why the Housing Slump Is Just Like the Iraq War

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Yes, the headline is serious. ‘The Twin Debacles’ is an interesting think piece by Slate’s Daniel Gross laying out the similarities between the housing market and the war in Iraq:

‘Iraq and the housing market offer a case study in how two phenomena can go from being extremely popular to deeply unpopular in a matter of months. And with Iraq having turned into a disaster about two years before housing did, the way Iraq is playing out in the culture may predict what will happen in housing.’

More: ‘In both Iraq and housing, folks who got us into the mess have repeatedly reassured the public that the debacle is contained, and that it is not contributing to instability and insecurity in adjacent areas.’

Gross stands on somewhat shaky ground when he criticizes the architects of the housing bubble -- he is the author of ‘Pop: Why Bubbles Are Great for the Economy,’ in which he argues that bubbles foster economic and technological innovation.

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Photo Credit: LATimes.com
Thanks for the link: Patrick.net