http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/12/20/144927/64 Much has been written about the real estate bubble threatening to burst in various cities around the country.  But, if the <a href="http://www.responsiblelending.org/">Center for Responsible Lending</a> (CRL), a major non-profit policy and research organization has it correctly, the next bubble to pop will be the foreclosure bubble.  According to the CRL, when that bubble pops, <a href="http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/20/BUGK2N2M011.DTL">could cost 2.2 million Americans their en-us Sat, 23 Dec 2006 09:53:45 EST Wed, 27 Dec 2006 13:20:27 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/12/20/144927/64#6 <blockquote><i>This economic boom has not translated into...creation of new jobs, except for in housing</i></blockquote>Hmmm, let's see: <a href="http://www.bls.gov/iag/construction.htm">Construction employment</a> <i>was</i> up a little, but there were fa Wed, 27 Dec 2006 13:20:27 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/12/20/144927/64#5 The problem is one of potential positive feedback.  If a slump in housing prices causes a wave of foreclosures, the sudden dumping of those properties on the market will cause an even greater slump in housing prices, driving even more mortgages underw Wed, 27 Dec 2006 02:00:38 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/12/20/144927/64#4 <i> "it is unconscionable to sell loans without verifying that the borrower has a reasonable chance to meet payments." </i><p> From the story, only 1 in 5 will fail to meet their payments, so I'd say 80% is a pretty reasonable chance. Tue, 26 Dec 2006 12:42:19 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/12/20/144927/64#3 <i>This economic boom has not translated into increases in salary or the large-scale creation of new jobs, except for in housing.</i> <p> Economic "gains" under a "conservative" presidency actually a bubble? <a href="http://www.ronaldreagan.com/">Who'd</ Mon, 25 Dec 2006 18:09:46 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/12/20/144927/64#2 <i>"Will this downturn see McLawsuits against mortgage sellers?  That might be the only way for sub-prime borrowers to save their houses, but it is difficult to imagine that US courts would rule against the mortgage sellers, with so much money at stak Sun, 24 Dec 2006 07:55:12 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/12/20/144927/64#1 This whole issue needs to be tied in with the US economy as a whole. Consumer spending is now around 70% of GDP, up from under 65% in the '50s and '60s. It is only in the past 8 years that consumer spending has made up that much of the US GDP.<p> Looking < Sat, 23 Dec 2006 18:51:46 EST string http://www.treesandthings.com/search/