Point by point:
A. Housing: I decided to rent, not buy. No loss there for me. Not everyone believed the bubblicious prices. Housing was a bubble.
B. TDC losses vary greatly depending upon when, and how much you bought. 80% is a gross exageration for most.
C. Physical silver hasn't gone down 50% even if you bought at the highs. It commands a very high premium, even for generic bars, that keeps rising as the paper price goes lower, thus supporting manipulation claims.
D. My earnings, and my wife's earnings, are higher than ever. If you are self-employed and prepared for JP's perfect storm, you should be doing well. The unprepared will suffer according to their lack of preparedness.
E. Do you really think we'll get lower oil prices long term? Don't you think that if we try to get something for nothing it will blow up in our faces?