... lose their jobs. But, what is fascinating, and perhaps surprising, is this: The close relationship between the fall in home prices and state economic activity has largely disappeared during the ... unemployment in the United States since the Great Depression. And this phenomenon is widespread. Compared with December 2007, when the recession began, the unemployment rate is up in all 50 states. ... years, the overall inflation rate has averaged almost exactly 2 percent, which is the Fed’s target rate of inflation. The same is true of the past five years, a tumultuous period of crisis, recession,...