Paul Jorion, anthropologist

I am not an anthropologist, nor a financial wizard, but I predicted the collapse well before Prof Jolion.

It was patently obvious that basing the economy on perpetually rising house and property prices, sooner or later, had to have an adverse effect, and would affect the health of the economy.

Copies of my messages to various blogs extending back as far as 2002, pointing out what Jorion came to speak about in 2008 are to hand.

But as usual, it is only those with ready and direct access to the world's press, and media in general, that are listened to even if they are ultimately ignored despite their accreditations.

Ignored that is, until that is, until the bubble burst, and folk such as myself, can gloat that we got it right long before the 'experts'. Many, again such as myself, took appropriate actions to buffer ourselves from harm, no playing the potentially unstable stock markets, we bought a house when they were realistically priced so our incomes could match that price, wed did not get on that madcap ladder of forever selling to 'move on up', we put our disposable income into improving that which we bought, so now we have no debt, and can take economic vacations wherever we please, and have no fears of being evicted from a house we went into over our financial heads in debt to become one of Thatchers favourites, a 'democratic home-owner'

We have no sense of guilt for the collapse, we did not cause it, but we bloody well know who did.

We all forgot that nasty little word...Greed', and the Thatcher years mantra 'greed is good',and all the mortgage schemes, and 'investment' plans, came back to chew on the collective derriere of those who fell into the trap set by the men of money.