George Packer: 'The Ponzi State'

But the Sunshine State is in a world of trouble, and the trouble is all about real estate. When houses were hot here, they were very hot. Maybe the hottest. And as long as there was a new buyer chasing the sun, it seemed it would go on forever.

Until it didn’t. New Yorker writer George Packer calls it the “Ponzi State.” He’s been out in the home foreclosure deserts of Florida, watching a world fall apart.

This hour, On Point: On the front lines of the meltdown in Florida.

You can join the conversation. Have you seen it? Do you live it? The dystopia of life in the housing meltdown in the sunshine state? What about your state? Will Florida come back? When? How?Guest:

George Packer joins us from New York.  A staff writer for The New Yorker, he’s reported on war in Iraq, atrocities in Sierra Leone, civil unrest on the Ivory Coast. He’s the author of several books, including “The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq.” His big article in this week's issue is “The Ponzi State: Florida’s foreclosure disaster" (subscription required). You can watch Packer talk about the piece at newyorker.com. His New Yorker blog is Interesting Times.