A letter-writer in WSJ‘s Wednesday Letters section had this:
China’s consumer economy is bound by families’ overinvestment in property. In the absence of a thriving retail stock market, the life savings of two or three generations are poured into housing.
With grandma’s nest egg and mom and dad’s retirement tied up in a young couple’s first home, even a slight chill in property valuations causes an arctic frost on consumer sentiment.
Yep.
Compare and contrast that with John Adams’ definition of Happiness.