a bit of reflection from the us experience, page-7

everyone wants to gain something for nothing, everyone wants to obtain something that goes up in value to make themselves rich. Look at the various on the gold threads sitting there waiting for the dollar to implode and gold to go sky high. Another case of 'I have it and you don't'.. What if we all went out and bought gold right now. I'll tell you, we'll all be rich because another ponzi scam will occur, until, of course, we run out of buyers and we need to start buying 'other' things, like food and clothing.

But people are not buying the hype as they once were. No longer will any asset make you rich for doing absolutely nothing. Why is the USA and Europe wealthier than China? Because the individual wealth is valued higher, based on higher valuations. The danger here is that the measure of ones wealth is not the assets, but how long one can continue without an income.

Europe and America have too many asset rich people with insufficient incomes to cover their debts, due to insufficient jobs.

So who is wealthier - an unemployed with high debt and an expensive home that no one wants to buy. Or someone who has an income and no debt?

So do you still believe Europe and the USA are as wealthy as you first thought they were? Who will buy their bull-dust? Who will buy those over-inflated homes that no one can afford to buy? Who will buy their products that are expensive due to their high wages? How will they continue to keep their jobs if they keep buying cheap from overseas? How will they pay for their elderly? Who is going to pay the taxes?

If money was never thrown out as it had in the past, then we wouldn't be in this mess right now. But we desperately need continued money flow - not just to keep asset prices elevated, but to maintain the confidence in 'the' consumers. But the banks have shown their cards - the message is out there; valuations are too high, and incomes are too stressed to warrant a super sized home loan. Nothing like a Happy Meal when nothing else is affordable.