Tuesday, May 19, 2015

The Ownership Society's Hull Breach

The following chart shows annual owner-built one-family unit housing starts.


Click to enlarge.

Surely we can fill the hole with some more freshly printed money. Or better still, how about an interest rate hike or two? You know, for old times' sake.

Trickled down sea water in the economy's bilge tanks, baby. That's what I'm talking about.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart
at

8 comments:

  1. mabMay 20, 2015 at 5:39 AM

    Pownership society! Mission accomplished!

    ReplyDelete
  2. deariemeMay 20, 2015 at 5:56 AM

    O/T, but what is likely to happen to the value of TIPS as people realise that many muni bonds are going to be defaulted on? Will there be a "flight to quality" among bonds, will money flow to equities, or overseas?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Stagflationary MarkMay 20, 2015 at 12:17 PM

    mab,

    Pawnership society!

    Q: What do you get when you combine easy loan access with alcohol?

    A: Payday loan bars!

    Candy mountain has never been so nutty! Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Stagflationary MarkMay 20, 2015 at 12:19 PM

    dearieme,

    As I've said before, they can pry the long-term TIPS and I-Bonds from my cold dead fingers.

    ReplyDelete
  5. mabMay 20, 2015 at 12:36 PM

    We got both kinds of pownership societies:

    Paupership and Pawnership!

    It's all good ......for the 1%!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Stagflationary MarkMay 20, 2015 at 3:10 PM

    mab,

    Dick-taters-n-shi*!

    I'm talking Cheney, Bush, potatoes, and shipping, of course.

    ReplyDelete
  7. friedMay 21, 2015 at 4:20 PM

    Hey Mark,
    Re ibonds...have money to buy this year's allocation...would you wait until November, or hit the trigger now. I just wonder if they will up the base rate to a generous .10%....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Stagflationary MarkMay 21, 2015 at 6:04 PM

    fried,

    I would wait until November. Both the fixed rate and the composite rate are 0% for I-Bonds bought now.

    ReplyDelete