I think it’s you who doesn’t get it. In a financial collapse, it’s not the plumbers, electricians, or machinists who will be out of work. It will be the investment bankers, the lawyers, and the middle managers.
Economies in the midst of a global financial collapse are still economies, whether people are trading securities on a stock market or trading chickens for bullets.
To your point, plumbers carpenters and machinists need demand for their services in order to be employed. In a recession demand for everything cools, and unemployment rises. This isn’t abstract theory, but well established and easily observable throughout history.
You said people with only one home won’t care about property values which is patently false. When people end up unemployed and owing 150% of the value of their property they simply choose to stop making repayments, because bankruptcy is a more appealing option than paying off a loan for nothing. This is exactly what happened just 15 years ago in the sub-prime lending crisis, and again an easily observable mechanism occurring in very recent history.
The web is awash with articles explaining the impact of China’s downturn. Notably in Australia it will cost Iron Ore miners $3b. Everyone’s pensions are heavily invested in these companies, and they employ many plumbers, electricians, and machinists.
As I started off by saying, affordable housing is a fantastic goal, but hoping for a collapse in the Chinese property market is not the way.
I think it’s you who doesn’t get it. In a financial collapse, it’s not the plumbers, electricians, or machinists who will be out of work. It will be the investment bankers, the lawyers, and the middle managers.
They need us far more than we need them.
Thats… just not how economies work.
Yes, but aren’t we talking about a scenario where the economy doesn’t work?
No.
I’m pretty sure that’s the definition of a global financial collapse
You’re not making any sense.
Economies in the midst of a global financial collapse are still economies, whether people are trading securities on a stock market or trading chickens for bullets.
To your point, plumbers carpenters and machinists need demand for their services in order to be employed. In a recession demand for everything cools, and unemployment rises. This isn’t abstract theory, but well established and easily observable throughout history.
You said people with only one home won’t care about property values which is patently false. When people end up unemployed and owing 150% of the value of their property they simply choose to stop making repayments, because bankruptcy is a more appealing option than paying off a loan for nothing. This is exactly what happened just 15 years ago in the sub-prime lending crisis, and again an easily observable mechanism occurring in very recent history.
The web is awash with articles explaining the impact of China’s downturn. Notably in Australia it will cost Iron Ore miners $3b. Everyone’s pensions are heavily invested in these companies, and they employ many plumbers, electricians, and machinists.
As I started off by saying, affordable housing is a fantastic goal, but hoping for a collapse in the Chinese property market is not the way.