California's Place in the Debate: Housing

Interesting article about housing crisis, and how California relates to the nation.  A few tidbits:

Los Banos, CA house prices are already down 66%.  20% are in foreclosure.

Population of CA is 12% of the nation.  But the mortages here are average 34% of mortgage-backed securities.

"Economist Chris Thornberg responded to that: "California doesn't have a Wall Street problem. Wall Street has a California problem.""

And after all this: "California is politically irrelevant. Weird."

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/10/22/survival/417wsj102208.txt