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It’s always something!
Just when there are some small (real small) signs that the U.S. economy may be on the mend, a new, never before seen type of swine flu is making the rounds from California, to Texas, to New York, to the U.K., to Spain and, of course, Mexico.
So far, no deaths in the U.S. (unlike south of the border)–but a possible pandemic is the last thing the world needs right about now while it is trying to tilt its axis back toward solvency.
Dead people don’t buy homes! (Except maybe in Chicago where dead people have often voted for political candidates.) And, politicians distracted by the spread of illness may shift focus away too long from fixing the economy.
As some already fear, we may have a perfect storm situation developing here: a basket case economy and the potential for a world-class flu pandemic! What a combo.
And, California, among the hardest hit by the bursting of the housing bubble, is now among the hardest areas of the U.S. hit by this new swine flu virus. Only 11 cases and two probable ones as of this writing…but a number just about everyone says will certainly grow larger over the course of the next several days and weeks.
Related articles by Zemanta
- Swine Flu: 5 Things You Need to Know About the Outbreak (time.com)
- Room for Debate: Swine Flu: A Cause for Panic? (roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com)
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Article Author: Charles FeldmanCharles has written 179 articles for us.
Visit Charles's Website: http://www.thefeldmanblog.com
Charles is currently reporting for KNX Radio in Los Angeles, is the co-author of the book No Time To Think, and can be found commenting about the news on his blog, The Feldman Blog, as well as on The Huffington Post.
Joshua Dorkin
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I am thinking that this could be yet another reason for people to stay at home rather than travel so this is not going to help the real estate markets in vacation markets one iota.
And to put it into perspective, the last time the swine flu pandemic hit the US, there were 40 deaths. So far there have been 1. On contrast, 13,000 Americans have died from the regular seasonal flu this year. I think an alien invasion is more probable than the swine flu even being in the media in a week. =)
These days there’s more articles about it in the news
than people who have actually contracted swine flu
more people gonna die driving in their cars
but that don’t make news like new flus or SARS
35,000 deaths occur every flu season
we weren’t concerned last year, what’s the reason?
i’m not saying that you shouldn’t be worried
but worry on the news gets bigger in a hurry
to hear me rap my full opinion, watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uSXwbOMV3E
Just the fear of a possible flu pandemic has wide effects that will ripple through the economy. Commercial real estate has some specific vulnerabilities. The fear of a pandemic and the reality of a stumbling economy, coupled with technology at our disposal to keep us functioning at home, could have dramatic effects.
Still, people always need us. Let not this be the hindrance for helping those people want to sell their homes