4plex – I think my primary point is lost. For the moment forget the term bubble, and ignore the current housing bubble …

If someone tells me that we have had an economic event (let’s call it a “zonk”) at a rate of once every 2.5 years over the past 70 years, then I would assume that these “zonks” are typical and perhaps necessary cyclical economic events. If someone told me that the current housing situation has the same characteristics as one of these “zonks” I would not be inclined to lose a lot of sleep over it. Since on the surface these “zonks” happen all the time.

… back to reality …
The problem is that when the current housing bubble is cast in the same category as these other bubbles that happen every couple of years makes it seem less daunting than it actually is.