Are things really that bad!

Kiniska

It's funny you talk to different people and get a lot of mixed signals. Some places - shops, attractions, holiday flights, etc. give the appearance that plenty of people still have a lot of money. Other than a drop in house prices, I haven't seen too many bargains and prices on houses haven't come down that much, but unless you're an Auctioneer, we don't really know how bad things really are in the housing market. It's the old story, if you're selling a house the market has collapsed, but if your buying, prices have only dropped a few percentage points.

Interestingly I met a former furniture wholesaler who lost his business and he claimed it was because of all of the furniture shops that owed him money who he sold to on credit. This in it self confuses me. I could understand if he was selling to builders or developers, but he wasn't.

Other than the housing market and the banks, how bad are things??

Coles

People shopping, attending attractions or going on holiday flights probably do have some money. It's those who are staying at home, or signing on, or emigrating that don't.

Yixian

Also government spending on projects already underway will decrease so things like infrastructure under transport 21 could suffer.

Bandit12

It's gonna be worse than the 1980's....fact