Thursday, February 16, 2006

Bird flu threatens misery for millions

Bird flu threatens misery for millions - National - smh.com.au:

A separate Treasury study, also to be released today, says a bird flu outbreak that kills 40,000 Australians would cause a recession 'about half the size of the Great Depression'. However, earlier claims about 'the dire economic effects' of bird flu had been overstated.

But in the long run, those who survived would benefit from the assets of those who perished.

There you have it - a solution for hard-pressed governments who simply can't figure out a way to solve housing hyper-inflation and affordability problems - wait for a natural disaster to strike! That way they don't have to tamper with the market at all, just let nature take its course. Unless they want to get embroiled in WWIII instead, or something, that would also be a good way to solve problems of free market hyper inflation and supply and demand problems.

Note that governments agonise over the 'pig in the python' baby boomers dying off, who will then be leaving a pile of old decrepit houses behind - what will that do to housing prices, with a sudden relative over-supply on the market? Doubtless that will be the signal to governments to open the 3rd world floodgates to prop up prices to keep their rich landlord cronies happy. (Note that the Australian Property Council loves immigration, it keeps a steady supply of near-impoverished renters coming in for its landlords to feed off. Vacancy rates are at an all time low!)

If a bird flu epidemic occurs, then I suppose those who 'benefit from the assets of those who perished' can go back to being landlords and fleecing people in the market all over again, and the spruikers can have a whole new run, although market prices for housing should be lower according to normal economics theory. At least governments will be happy at last, and, after all, the citizens are just here to keep government happy, isn't that the way it's meant to work?

No comments: