September 2006: There is a new urban sport, and Australia is high up on the leader board. The objective - Who can crash the economy first. As simple as it sounds, when it does happen, there may not be a clear winner. Which is just as well, as for all your hard efforts there is no prize money, just heartache and tears.

The Baby Boomers will no doubt say it was Generation Y, or Generation Debt as they are sometimes known. Generation Y will say it was the Baby Boomers insatiable appetite for housing stock driving up asset prices way beyond fundamentals - or even the growth of equity release products such as reverse mortgages to free up extra spending money to pump straight into the economy for goods and services.

The financial regulators will say it was the credit providers lax lending practices - everyone knew lending money to people who can’t afford it would end in disaster. Not to mention the endless adverts tempting people with “So you can have it now!”. The banks and lenders will blame the mortgage brokers for fudging the figures on those low doc, no doc, what’s up doc? loans.

The politicians and treasurer prior to turning the economy’s auto pilot switch off will blame the central bank after all they control interest rates (except in election years) and if that doesn’t work, it’s the 1 in 100 year drought (no, it’s not climate change).

September 2006