I made the mistake last time in thinking that people would learn their lesson after suffering those losses during the 1990s. Not only did real estate speculation come back, it came back 3 times stronger than it had before. Now I know. This will happen over and over again and it is only limited by the availability of investment capital, whether its source is here or abroad. So far, I think we’ve been a good choice for foreign investors because our economy has been perceived as being more stable (as opposed to more profitable) than these emerging economies elsewhere.
For every American who wants to build a solid and sustainable future there are at least 2 dozen who aspire to the Mercedes + McMansion combo with a Hummer on the side. And they want to do it with no visible means of support. Everyone wants to be a rock star.