
Leading economist warns of 10 years of depression and debt - phekunde
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52752172
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mikekchar
Before say anything too stupid, let me say that I'm very worried about the
short to middle term economic impact of Coronavirus. However, I live in Japan
having moved here in 2007 -- nearly a decade after the bubble burst. We've had
pretty much flat growth the entire time. It's often held up as the example of
"You don't want your economy to do that!" I can get a 25 year closed mortgage
with not rate changes at something like 1.6% and I've been able to do that for
the last 10 years! We've been basically deflationary the whole time I've been
here.

And it's not that bad. In fact, there are a fair number of good things about
it. The crazy inflation in real estate prices in other places in the world
worried me _far_ more than the completely stagnant growth of Japan. The fact
that farmers are getting squeezed with real prices for their good not changing
for decades while distributors pull in every increasing profits is...
unnerving to say the least. While the last 30 years in the west has mostly
been economic party time, there have also been a lot of casualties. A U shape
or even L shape economy may not actually be the worst thing in the world
(although there will obviously be a lot of people who will be hurt by it).

Just my uneducated impression. Likely I'm totally wrong, but I can't shake the
feeling that we're missing something fundamental about how a healthy economy
should operate.

~~~
Veen
You won't get a mortgage at any interest rate if you don't have a job. Nations
will be forced to spend far less on health services and infrastructure, and
that will have a direct impact on mortality rates and quality of life. A
depression economy will be responsible for death, misery, untreated mental
illness, child poverty, increased inequality, and other unpleasantries.

