Elliott

The Inflation / Deflation Forces Battles On

Urban myth: the Fed is printing money like crazy. Not true. Go to FRED, the Fed's database, and look at a chart for M2. The total dollars in circulation in 2009 has leveled off after climbing in previous years. Government debt is increasing but total dollars in circulation is not... with high unemployment, there are fewer actual dollars chasing goods. That's why the inflation numbers are so low. With pay cuts, lack of jobs, huge housing price cuts, credit card contraction, etc., deflation is dominant right now. You can't have sustained inflation with a 10% unemployment rate... not enough buyers of goods to push up prices.

4 Sectors to 'Buy in May'

re stock market has done better under Democrats: the columnist is correct, while commenter Pursley is wrong. It's not a political question, it's a matter of demonstrated historical fact. The usefulness of this historical fact as a market predictor is, however, open to debate.

Personally I think McCain is good for the market short-term but bad long-term. Primarily because he will do nothing except continue the status quo (low taxes, high deficits, weak dollar, no meaningful energy policy, and fight the war in Iraq forever).

Obama will be bad for the market short-term but good for the long-term. Primarily because he will ask us to take some bitter medicine, mostly higher taxes. But in the long run he and the Dems will do much more to get alternative energy going, strengthening the dollar by shrinking the deficit, getting Iraq off our backs, improving homeland security by actually having the military home protecting the homeland.