It is the availability of cash that pushes-up prices.

And greed all round just magnifies it. People increase their mortgage to release capital and that is a relatively modern phenominon. Credit card debt is not seen as a problem.

My mother's era was the depression and the aftermath and the war years. Her philosophy was to not take on debt or pay off quickly and not have if you can't afford. With good reason.

I inherited that - but it will take a mighty crash to engender that culture country-wide again. The state must bail-out the unfortunate - is their watch-cry.

We the careful are the "state". The unfortunate include the unthoughtful. There is no justice - if we don't "bail them out" society suffers.

Who said fair?