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Forget the Fiscal Cliff: Think Private Debt If you're tired of listening to talking heads predicting doom and gloom ahead at the precipice ("fiscal cliff), you might want to read a new report out titled "How to Predict the Next Financial Crisis." This 29-page report hypotheses private debt is the real culprit in our economic travails. The authors charted the ratio of private debt (consumer, business and government) to GDP. This ratio, the authors believe, is the key to understanding the Great Depression and the current Great Recession. See graphic. The authors are Richard Vague and Steve Clemons. Vague is president of the Governor's Woods Foundation and managing partner of Gabriel Investments. He was a cofounder and CEO of Energy Plus, Juniper Financial and First USA. Clemons is Washington editor-at-large at The Atlantic, and cofounder and senior fellow of the America Strategy Program at the New America Foundation.
The authors assert, "The initial crisis of the Great Depression, like the Great Recession, was caused primarily by a massive private debt buildup." In essence, the authors posit that because of the sheer size of our private debt to other factors, "private debt may be a more important determinant of economic trends than the money supply, government debt, trade, tax, reserve requirements and other factors." For an explanation in the authors own words, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIppc5Es9ak. The full report is available for download at https://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-clemons/restructure-private-debt_b_1693083.html And Speaking of Debt Detroit is exploring filing for Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy protection. Stockton, Calif. is the largest U.S. city thus far to have filed bankruptcy. For the "Motor City" and Mayor Dave Bing, the former seven-time All-Star with the Detroit Pistons (1966–75), it's a last option that some predict would set in motion years of legal battles by creditors, threaten even greater cuts in public services and force the city to sell major city assets to help pay down its debts.
You're Invited Down Under The New Zealand and Australian Institutes of Landscape Architects (NZILA and AILA) invite you to be a part of the 50th International Federation of Landscape Architects World Congress (IFLA50) April 10-12 in Auckland, New Zealand www.iflaonline.org. If you need more incentive, Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper says New Zealand (called "Aotearoa" by the Maori) is the best holiday spot in the world.
Home on the Prairie The landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates is recreating a 15-acre Texas prairie of wildflowers (Indian paintbrush, evening primrose and bluebonnet) and native grasses at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas. The project manager is senior associate Herb Sweeney IV. Laura Bush said she was "really excited" about the project, noting she and George W. had worked over the years to restore the native prairie at their ranch in Crawford. The Bush Center aims to get LEED Platinum certification.
Oops, I mean, Zut Alors! Imagine the owner of a magnificent 18th century French baroque ch????(R)????teau de Bellevue in the Bordeaux wine region has commissioned you the landscape architect to be a part of the team to renovate the property. The first step of the work is for a Polish building firm to raze a small building on the side of the property. Now image the gray matter of the demolition crew is not properly connected, and instead of tearing down the small building, they reduce the ch????(R)????teau to rubble in a couple of days, including the sweeping exterior stone staircases and balustrades! No need to imagine. That's exactly what happened to the 140,000 sq. ft. Ch????(R)????teau de Bellevue in Dec. 2012. Yvrac Mayor Claude Carty has ordered the "renovation" be stopped until officials investigate the matter. The Russian owner of the chateau wants to rebuild a replica of the ch????(R)????teau, which he estimates will take two years.
Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
Hardscape Oasis in Litchfield Park
Ash Nochian, Ph.D. Landscape Architect
November 12th, 2025
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