Comments on: Payroll data: Yeah, we're in a recession http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2008/10/03/payroll_data_yeah_were_in_a_re/ Commentary on the economy, the markets, and business Sat, 05 Dec 2009 05:18:44 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Ross http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2008/10/03/payroll_data_yeah_were_in_a_re/comment-page-1/#comment-11302 Ross Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:14:11 +0000 http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2008/10/03/payroll_data_yeah_were_in_a_re/#comment-11302 There are at least two questions remaining: how severe and how long will this recession be. From my comfortable armchair, we've been deferring a recession since about 1995 through one unsustainable scheme or another. Now that that long-avoided discomfort is inevitable, will our monetary policy be to take the pain quickly and get through the contraction, or will we drag it out for years or decades by trying to come up with another scheme? Several kinds of investments need to finish failing before we're through this. Housing prices need to finish correcting. All investments derivative of those crazy house prices need to follow. This includes the bankruptcy proceedings of a very large number of overextended American homeowners. There are at least two questions remaining: how severe and how long will this recession be.

From my comfortable armchair, we've been deferring a recession since about 1995 through one unsustainable scheme or another. Now that that long-avoided discomfort is inevitable, will our monetary policy be to take the pain quickly and get through the contraction, or will we drag it out for years or decades by trying to come up with another scheme?

Several kinds of investments need to finish failing before we're through this. Housing prices need to finish correcting. All investments derivative of those crazy house prices need to follow. This includes the bankruptcy proceedings of a very large number of overextended American homeowners.

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