That some time between January 20th and Feb 13th we slid over the edge. I know people say the lehman was a turning point or Bear Sterns, or Tarp I or Nov 20th. In all those instances, people had expectations of some pull through, waiting for the next government magic trick. At this point with Geithner total fuck up of a press conference, ObamaGang stimulus ram through. The nominations of tax cheats, an AG calling Americans cowards, a President and his press secretary going after private citizens and Congress and all the pundits calling anyone who opposes redistribution a greedy racist huckster. People have just accepted that if there was a role for government to some how pull us out, its not going to happen. Its increasingly looking that not only is government not going to help but they are actually going to accelarate the implosion by stoking class warfare. Maybe I am just shell shocked, but the future looks bleak. Frankly I could give a rats ass if tomorrow it all burns, but I worry for my kids. I hate the idea them and their grand kids working of the debts or rebuilding the disasters of this generation. Ahh crap...Looks like the new tax plan should be good to take us to 5500 on the dow.
I contemplated buying land and a lot of guns, as well as some training for raising crops and survivalism; however, what I haven't figured out is how I'm going to have enough ammo to shoot the looting hordes, and whether I should shoot them without questions, post a sign and then shoot, or what. They'll redistribute my wealth after they kill me. Remember Katrina? Katrina's New Orleans is tomorrow's "All of America".
.....and that's why it's called 'depression'! There's only one solution. Let's all get pissed and be merry!
If you're serious about this thought then now is the time to consider relocating to a tax haven so your children can grow up without a tax burden that will take 25+ years to pay off.
Reminds me of a story from ancient Greece. In Sparta when you turned 55 you were thrown off a cliff. So a Father and Son are walking to the cliff the father laughs and the son says why are you laughing you are going to die and the father says you're next. Hate to be old in twenty years, oh shit I am already old
I have been trying to look on the bright side for my own psychological well being, but its proving to be exteremely difficult. Take the long view, we have been through Civil War, two world wars, several depressions etc. Somehow we'll survive and prosper again. On the short view we have: Left leaning government which is a proven financial loser, huge deficits, spoiled consumers with no more cash and lots of debt, an electorate getting dumber and more foreign by the day, corrupt and greedy Wall Street thugs, trade that sucks wealth and jobs out of the states on balance, a shifting of technology leadership to asia, war, hateful religions, an outside world that would like to see the US go down.... other than that everything looks pretty good.
Yes, most of the economies of the world are decline right now. And they are declining more rapidly than they did in the Great Depression. But the rate of decline says more about improvements in the world since the 1930s than the troubles in the world. There is now a much greater amount of transparency which enables companies and governments to know the true state of things that much sooner. The lags have declined so the pace of change has accelerated. Just because everyone can't buy a shiny new SUV every year doesn't mean that we'll have looting in the streets. The U.S. GDP could decline 30% and the standard of living would be like it was in 1995 (oh the horror!). A 50% decline would put us back to 1985. It's hardly a return to the stone age.
Is the US going to descend in to Mad Max anarchy: No (seriously get a grip if you are worried about this) Is the US going to look very different in 20 years: Yes though probably not as different as some imagine. What hasn't and won't change? The time tested values are what will put you in the best position to prosper regardless of the changes. Live far below your means, don't carry any debt, be conservative and well diversified with your investments, take care of your health, your family (grow vegtables if you have the land to do so), try and add value to your own life, the lives of those around you, and, if you have time and energy left, your community. Never give up. Live like that and you will be fine. From a trading/investing perspective think in terms of opportunities, such as being able to buy in to all sorts of asset classes at multidecade lows that will come in the next 2 years. One good thing about all this unemployment, especially amongst the high acheivers is that they are not the type to just sit still and lament thier loss, they are doers and will be starting many thousands of new businesses, a few of which will be the walmarts and microsofts of tomorrow giving a new generation the possibility to make Buffet like returns over the next 20+ years.