Everything is smoke and mirrors. The price of a thing is completely determined by the perception of value and what people are willing to pay or sell at. The pr

Everything is smoke and mirrors. The price of a thing is completely determined by the perception of value and what people are willing to pay or sell at. The problem with the glut of cheap credit is that it created the means to leverage capital on a scale that essentially embed rent seekers into every facet of life to the detriment of those without. Those already with property were able to become landlords on a massive scale because credit was cheap, pushing up demand and pricing out those seeking their first home. Fund managers were able to borrow massive amounts to buy into every business possible to the detriment of other business stakeholders and often the business itself. The economy as a whole suffered as generating quarterly returns and accumulating wealth trumped business growth and production. Because this occurred on a global level the social compact was broken. I can only see two ways out of this: A tax on wealth (70%+) might be the means to creating a "spend it or lose it" attitude and force the promised "trickle down" promised when the laws were changed to allow this aberration. Or we need a multi-trillion dollar debt forgiveness program to reset the economy back to a place people are not so burdened by debt (from putting a roof over their heads, getting an education or requiring healthcare) that they can't afford anything.