"I've been on vacation and had a chance to travel around the West. In many of the places I visited, concerns about a real estate crisis are growing. People are starting to fear what this means for them personally. The interesting thing about coming home is the narrative in Seattle remains "we're different."
I continue to be skeptical. I think the region's housing market is playing a regional version of the "Prisoner's Dilemma."
To me, this housing crisis isn't really about housing; it's about credit. We are a nation that has borrowed too much money at every level -- personal debt, corporate debt and government debt. Now, we've got to figure out how to increase our payment levels at a time when revenue seems to be shrinking on all three planes.
One way we could do that is accept higher inflation. It's easier to pay down debt (especially if you quit borrowing) with dollars that are worth less than those you borrowed. On the flip side, the worse thing that can happen to a nation that owes so much is deflation. That's the scenario that ought to scare the bejeeburs out of policymakers because it could be the logical result from a decline in housing prices.
Ready to play the Prisoner's Dilemma?"
Get the Story:
Mark Trahant: The housing crisis is all about credit
(The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 7/29)
More Mark Trahant:
Mark Trahant: Science
still clear on global warming (07/02)
Mark Trahant: Sacred sites
must be saved (6/25)
Mark Trahant:
Society is being numbed by dumb (6/18)
Mark Trahant: Creating a world with less garbage
(6/11)
Mark Trahant: A boost of the
unambiguous (6/4)
Mark Trahant:
Economics of immigration reform (5/28)
Mark Trahant: The changing face of America
(5/21)
Mark Trahant: Agree to disagree
about warming (5/7)
Mark Trahant:
Optimism for the newspaper business (4/30)
Mark Trahant: Tribal colleges effective and
essential (4/23)
Mark Trahant: The
global warming debate (4/16)
Mark
Trahant: America's cycles of boom and bust (4/9)
Mark Trahant: Spring cleaning for the government
(3/26)
Mark Trahant: The state of the
changing news media (3/19)
Mark Trahant:
Mismanagement of the Indian trust (3/12)
Mark Trahant: More gloomy prospects for economy
(3/5)
Mark Trahant: An important vote for
Seattle (2/26)
Mark Trahant: America
headed toward credit meltdown (2/19)
Mark Trahant: Doom and gloom on global warming
(2/12)
Mark Trahant: Americans unsettled
over economy (2/5)
Mark Trahant: Too
hard to ignore global warming (1/22)
Mark Trahant: Women finally take their place
(1/15)
Mark Trahant: Raise taxes to pay
for war in Iraq (1/8)
Mark Trahant:
President Gerald Ford and Indian health (1/2)
Advertisement
Tags
Trending in News
1 White House Council on Native American Affairs meets quick demise under Donald Trump
2 'A process of reconnecting': Young Lakota actor finds ways to stay tied to tribal culture
3 Jenni Monet: Bureau of Indian Affairs officer on leave after fatal shooting of Brandon Laducer
4 'A disgraceful insult': Joe Biden campaign calls out Navajo leader for Republican speech
5 Kaiser Health News: Sisters from Navajo Nation died after helping coronavirus patients
2 'A process of reconnecting': Young Lakota actor finds ways to stay tied to tribal culture
3 Jenni Monet: Bureau of Indian Affairs officer on leave after fatal shooting of Brandon Laducer
4 'A disgraceful insult': Joe Biden campaign calls out Navajo leader for Republican speech
5 Kaiser Health News: Sisters from Navajo Nation died after helping coronavirus patients
More Headlines
Tim Giago: A disease that ravages Indian Country and America
EPA unveils Western office to focus on abandoned mine tracking, cleanup
Following McGirt decision, Oneida Nation case continues string of Indigenous court victories
Clara Caufield: Enduring the COVID Pandemic
Native Sun News Today: Authorities target traffickers during Sturgis rally
Elizabeth Cook-Lynn: A state of war?
Native Sun News Today: 'Sovereignty is Real'
Native youth navigate complex, contradictory jurisdictions
President of Oglala Sioux Tribe suspended ahead of impeachment hearing
'A process of reconnecting': Young Lakota actor finds ways to stay tied to tribal culture
White House Council on Native American Affairs meets quick demise under Donald Trump
Tribes, Nevada Guard combine efforts for COVID-19 testing
More Headlines
EPA unveils Western office to focus on abandoned mine tracking, cleanup
Following McGirt decision, Oneida Nation case continues string of Indigenous court victories
Clara Caufield: Enduring the COVID Pandemic
Native Sun News Today: Authorities target traffickers during Sturgis rally
Elizabeth Cook-Lynn: A state of war?
Native Sun News Today: 'Sovereignty is Real'
Native youth navigate complex, contradictory jurisdictions
President of Oglala Sioux Tribe suspended ahead of impeachment hearing
'A process of reconnecting': Young Lakota actor finds ways to stay tied to tribal culture
White House Council on Native American Affairs meets quick demise under Donald Trump
Tribes, Nevada Guard combine efforts for COVID-19 testing
More Headlines