The mobiles phones are no concern CJ. Its the microchip on the right hand or forehead thats a big problem. God says no, we are not to take it (Revelation 14:9-11) and the rotten thing leaks from its lithium battery anyway and causes boils. Junk technology from the great golden technological age. You can click on mark of the beast boils if you like.

The bubble had to burst,just like in 1981 and 1989.This is why Kevin Rudd is already cutting back on Govt spending.He is preparing for the cost of dole payments that sent us into debt to the tune of 18% of GDP during the Keating/Hawke recession.$90 billion back then.Kevin however,has the future fund to fall back on.

If China is affected by the American malaise,then we too will catch a cold.It is just a matter of how deep and long the recession will last.So long as the Banks and Govts keep the money flowing and keep inflation under control,there is no reason why we should suffer as much as the US.
If you want to make some fast money,sell your house now and try to predict the bottom of the share market demise,since there will be some real bargins out there in the next few months.The only question is,can you fathom the depth of this bear market?

Gibo give it a rest mate! over night the fall in world stock markets was bad , it will get worse.
However personal debt will impact on us more, surely it is clear debt always has to be repaid and in troubled times that re paying becomes harder.
Rudd is doing what he must, but to blame him so early in his term for this is hugely funny.
We will be far better of than some, if we own our over priced homes and have no personal debts we can be much better of.
If not?
Rest assured arjay Kevin Rudd will win the next election clearly and be hard to remove in the one after.
I remind you the conservatives do not hold one state yet, no dream no nightmare just true Australians rejected them in every recent poll, ask your self why?

*This is why Kevin Rudd is already cutting back on Govt spending.He is preparing for the cost of dole payments*

Actually not so Arjay, he' trying to cut back Govt spending to have
an effect on inflation, which is still our major problem. The
Australian economy has been going too strong in some places, causing
all sorts of problems.

I have to give Kev his due here. He's bothered to come to WA,
understand the problems we have with too much growth and see what
can be done to solve some of those problems. The last Govt treated
us more like a cash cow to be milked, but seemed to have little idea
as to what was going on here.

I also am happy to hear that they are going to see what can be
done to give people incentives to save, something we Aussies are
not very good at, largely due to past tax policy. It has to
be addressed, to help with our current account and would give people
less incentive to just keep buying more houses when they have some
spare cash. No wonder we have a housing bubble. That hasn't popped
yet, but it can't be far away once credit tightens up and becomes
more expensive.

Put Bush Brown and Rudd in the same room one task fix this problem, they will not be able to.
Paying far too much for a home, buying more than you can afford is more our fault than theirs personal debt is personal problems.
Credit, how hard is it to understand if you haven't got it you should not spend it?
If we surf our way over this tsunami we will one day not be so lucky.
I take no joy in knowing one day a great deal of pain will come our way via this.
That house that resold for $169.000? its owner was buying it on credit paying $185.000 plus interest his loss was a warning to us all.

It's pretty evident that we're at less risk than the US, and that our economic ties to Asia put us in a better position than much of Europe.

Which does raise the question - while I concede our issues with housing ownership does provide a layer of risk to Australia, wouldn't our comparative strength when compared to other western economies make us a more attractive investment option when directly compared to the US and Europe?
Surely there are other investment opportunites here that foreign investors could embrace that aren't tied to the housing market. There's always a few investors out there, keen to take advantage of the situation.

Regardless of the financial situation, there is always a minority who can make money out of even the most dire catastrophe. I can't help but wonder whether there's a way Australia can position itself here, even if it does come at the expense of other western nations...