Why are Americans so gloomy about their great economy?

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22. Another legacy of the Bush years, alas

Yes - there's always been that tension between the need for housing, and its value as an investment. Homeownership, and even rent, have always been costly.

But it was in the Bush years that banksters, vulture funds and other casino capitalists really got interested in the large-scale use of housing as leverage for their money laundering, derivatives, or whatever other games they play with other people's money.

But then, who can blame existing homeowners for playing into their hands.

You don't find too many people who, on learning their old fixer-upper is suddenly worth half a million if they can sell it to such characters, would pass up such an offer for the sake of selling it to real people instead.