What cannot go on, will not go on and all the absurdities of the present will end with a bang not a whimper.  By Victor Davis Hanson May 21, 2023 Asign of a civilization in headlong decline is its embrace of absurdities. Unfortunately for the United States, we are witnessing an epidemic of nihilist nonsense. Here are a few examples:   Reparations   How could a dysfunctional state like California even contemplate $800 billion in reparations?  The state currently faces a $31 billion annual deficit—and it’s climbing. Its $100 billion high-speed rail project is inert, a veritable Stonehenge of concrete monoliths with a foot of track.   California’s income tax rates are already the highest in the nation. Its sales taxes, electricity rates, and gas taxes and prices are among the steepest in the country. And for what?  Crime, homelessness, and...

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April Home Prices Reflect Largest Year-Over-Year Drop in Decade, April Prices Drop 1.7%, Decline 23.2% from Prior Year May 18, 2023 | Sundance | 54 Comments Homeowner equity is being erased. As higher interest rates continue to put pressure on borrowers, the ability of the average person to afford a mortgage diminishes.  Higher mortgage rates lead to downward pressure on residential home values as fewer borrowers can afford higher payments.  Simultaneously, commercial real estate is dropping in value as vacancies continue increasing. Put both of these issues together and already tenuous banks holding mortgage bonds as assets can become more unstable. This dynamic creates the continual tremors in the background of an economy already suffering from high inflation and low consumer purchasing of durable goods. A perfect storm starts to realize. (Wall Street...