Well, I am old enough to remember "The recession we had to have" back in the 80's here in Australia. And yes, that was triggered by the federal government and the reserve bank for what it was worth.

I think interest rates have been too low for too long. Yes, it has encouraged spending, but methinks too much spending as I have seen friends and family totally overextend themselves on huge loans for huge houses just because they could. Even interest rates move up even 1%, they will be pushed against the wall to try and service those loans, and that in itself may trigger massive sell offs and bring housing prices crashing down.

It's basically a tightrope walk across a windy gorge at the moment - everything is precariously balanced, but for how much longer??