Samuelson Making Wrong Assertions on Consumer Spending and the Great Recession

Robert Samuelson gets it wrong yet again. In talking about the economic downturn following the collapse of the housing bubble, Samuelson tells readers:

"Home buyers had paid too much on the (false) assumption that prices would rise indefinitely. As real estate valuations crested in 2006, homeowners had to divert more of their income to repaying their mortgages and home-equity loans. Other consumer spending suffered."

Folks who have access to the data on the Commerce Department's website kno...