Well, that's what John Hinderaker said 3 years ago, during the height of the build-up. And he was sure enough to excoriate Paul Krugman for saying there was.
Let's go into the way-back machine...err...the not-so-way-back machine and savor the wisdom and foresight of the right wing as the crisis was set in motion...
It was August, three years ago when Paul Krugman had the nerve to dis our Glorious Leader and his impervious super-economy, and the lord of the wingnuts, John Hinderaker himself, took it upon himself to cut that ultraliberal to pieces:
It must be depressing to be Paul Krugman. No matter how well the economy performs, Krugman's bitter vendetta against the Bush administration requires him to hunt for the black lining in a sky full of silvery clouds. With the economy now booming, what can Krugman possibly have to complain about? In today's column, titled "That Hissing Sound", Krugman says there is a housing bubble, and it's about to burst:
Krugman: Meanwhile, the U.S. economy has become deeply dependent on the housing bubble. The economic recovery since 2001 has been disappointing in many ways, but it wouldn't have happened at all without soaring spending on residential construction, plus a surge in consumer spending largely based on mortgage refinancing. Did I mention that the personal savings rate has fallen to zero?
Now we're starting to hear a hissing sound, as the air begins to leak out of the bubble.
Well, if we believed anything Krugman writes, we'd be worried all the time.
Ha ha. Don't you just love his erudite wit? The way he takes Krugman apart? Don't you just admire his big bulging wingnut brain?
I don't doubt that some people in places like San Francisco and San Diego have paid too much for their houses. But it isn't clear, and Krugman doesn't even try to explain, why that constitutes a bubble or why level or declining home prices in selected areas around the country will somehow imperil the economy.
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Yeah...I don't know how that could ever, ever imperil the economy.
If you'd like to congratulate Mr. Hinderaker on his prescience, he helpfully posts his personal phone number on his own site, here.
Be gracious.