Groundhog

Revisiting the Dow's Late 1930s Rally

Uh...remember why we're in the mess we're in. All that wealth we thought we had was fantasy. Desperate to make up their losses, traders and speculators are writing a new fantasy tale everyday, and the financial media is trying to suspend our disbelief. Are we on the path to sustainable energy sources? Is Detroit making cars that people can afford to drive in the future? Does the USA have an industrial, manufacturing, agricultural, and services economy ready to meet the competetive challenges of the 21st century? Is our commercial utility infrastructure dynamic and robust? Are our urban youth staying in school and educating themselves for a prosperous future? Does our goverment operate on a balanced budget? Do I have a real job? Is my opinion worth the steam off of yesterday's you know what? The answer to all of these questions is no. So I don't think this is an economy worth investing in yet, and when it is, the investor will still have to pick and choose based on the financial fundamentals of individual corporations. Everyday is market day on Wall Street. Don't be distracted by the fanfare. Stay in your houses, if you still have one. This is the eye of the storm.

The Shallowest Generation

Mr. Quinn obviously had to let off a lot of steam. Unlike most of his fellow irates, he has the statistics to keep his kettle on boil. However, I disagree with the popular assumption that my parents generation was the "greatest" generation.

The financial failure of the 30s, environmental degradation as witnessed in the dust bowl of "The Grapes of Wrath," the rise of facism in Europe, their acquiesence to Hitler before WWII and the subsequent dominance of the "military industrial complex" after WWII, then the Korean War and the Vietnam War...all of this was rendered unto their children. They made big mistakes, and their children made big mistakes. The sins of the fathers shall be visited upon their sons.

The point being, since The Great Depression, the United States of America has been unable to find its purpose in the world. Herbert Hoover was much maligned for his saying that "the business of America is business." Business is a sustainable enterprise that sufficiently satisfies current economic needs while creating a surplus of capital for building sustainable growth and prosperity. This concept of business does very well under the influence of a democratic government because everybody has the same basic economic needs. So to paraphrase Mr. Hoover, 'the business of America is on-going.'

Yes, this is a frightening time we are living in because most of us "Baby Boomers" have never experienced real want in our lives. We should reflect on the much more frightening world very many other people who are not US citizens are living in at this very moment. Some of that fear, in fact, is our own doing simply because we have never found our true purpose as a nation.

I agree with Herbert Hoover. America should get back to business. We've had a financial hurricane that has swept through corporate and household America like an act of God. Yes, we are suffering for our sins, but our failings are nothing new under the sun, and a failure can become a success when rescued by honest hard work and commitment to others who are working in earnest.

Remember, capitalism doesn't kill people, capitalists do. ...the Groundhog

Apocalypse Dow: The Search for Scapegoats

Ah...bliss: A rational voice speaks, but why do we have to have a witch hunt? Why can't we simply determine what mistakes were made, and then correct the errors.