It's not that simple. As far as the economy is concerned Clinton was lucky and he did a good job. GWB was not lucky and on top of that he fucked up big time.
While I've disagreed with most of your posts on this thread (or any thread ) you're mostly right. Randomness by nature is the variable. With a few caveats though. Folks who work hard, stay in school or change careers the second they perceive they're in a dying business have an edge over those who don't "do the right thing". That's not to say the drunk driving doctor won't wind up in Riker's for killing a pedestrian or that the poor black kid won't actually make the NFL but most paths run to form with little variance. If you polled people who grew up in a wealthy suburb, rarely would one wind up living on the streets. By the same token very few kids from the inner city would be millionaires. We're truly dealt cards. There's many irony's present in America. Ghetto kids since the 60's have been preached at, "you don't need to work shit jobs for the man." Now we wonder why Mexican's are swimming across the border to clean dishes while Black kid's are selling drugs. People who's homes have sextupled in value are pissed their insurance has tripled. People complain about soaring health care costs while shelling out 40 bucks to see a crap movie. There's good reason why Michael Corleone and Tony Soprano are the most popular fictional characters in America the past few decades. As a society we identify with men who push the limits in pursuit of the good life. Without doubt being exposed to materialism 24/7 has tarnished society's expectations. Cheap money has further fueled the religion. With 1.9% factory lease incentives and the like we've become horrifyingly bourgeois. We feign concern. I have an ULTRA liberal neighbor who rails about the dangers of global warming while complaining that "Bush's war" has caused high gas prices. Meanwhile and I kid you not, his driveway consists of 2 SUV's and a pickup truck. There's a Gore voter for you. John Edward's in many ways personifies America. We're vapid and faithless. We lack introspection yet everyone is a wise guy when it comes to pointing out the flaws in others. ET is filled with Bush sux, Bernanke sux, Greenspan sucked worse, Pelosi sux, Vic sux, Taleb sux yet no one ever has the stone's to say I suck too. No sir, society will never collectively say it's OUR greed and self serving paranoia that drives politics and issues. I'm pure, you're not and we wonder why it's dog eat dog. It's because we're cornered by our own flaws.
You're one of the few people in America I hear bitching about the economy. Bush has done a very good job in that regard. That's the point of this thread dooodooo. If folk's think this is bad then they'll lack the fortitude to weather real storms. 2000-2002 was analogous to the market's move from 1929-1932. Cutting taxes and interest rates while running deficits was the needed remedy. I have no doubts that a fiscal conservative (of which I'm one) would have run us into a depression. There's a time for all seasons and while I'm no fan of Keyne's I must agree the proofs in the pudding.
Ztroll: >Any fool who is a trader knows that he can work just >as hard, have just as gung ho or positive an attitude, >but if the markets aren't moving, he ain't gonna make >squat. Any wise trader thinks to himself "if this market isn't moving, I'm gonna go find a market that is". This country has more "markets" (job markets that is) than you can shake a stick at. I've traded many of them. Nothing says that we are entitled to 25 years in a fixed career. JB
You're one of the few people in America I hear bitching about the economy. Really? So you live in a bubble, what else is new? You should get out more. National economy Getting better 19% Staying the same 24% Getting worse 53% National economy Excellent 12% Very good 15% Good 16% Bad 25% Very bad 16% Household financial situation Getting better 21% Staying the same 44% Getting worse 34% http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy/ Bush has done a very good job in that regard. You are certainly entitled to your opinion no matter how misguided it may be but most Americans disagree with you: Bush handling the economy Approve 31% Disapprove 62% http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy/
No one has suggested that there is zero element of chance, head starts, or that work and motivation offers a 100% fool-proof guarantee of great fortune. Is that what you are waiting for? Good luck! I will say with reasonable certainty though, that if you do not empower your own self to "make it", and instead wait for some higher power or upswing in the economy to lift you up, you are very unlikely to do so. You seem so set in your thinking that you would rather point to the exceptions and anomalies in order to deflect from the truth in order to try and justify and rationalize your entrenched mindset rather than look at the whole forest and draw the correct conclusions from that. What you are citing is statistically insignificant. Everyone knows someone who spent their life chain-smoking and then lived to be 90. Does that mean that if you want a long and healthy life that you should smoke? Would you make that exact same argument in this context? Everyone also knows someone who lived a healthy life-style above and beyond all standards, and then croaked at 55. Was he a fool? Or maybe you've bought into the socialist brain-wash thinking so much that you feel that even your own health is not in your own hands, but that the govt again owes you a long and healthy life, complete with cradle to grave health care subsidized by your fellow Americans despite what you do or don't do for your own body. Do you just want to be enabled? Will that make you feel good? You already have been, by another poster here who has agreed with you. I could save myself these extra typed words and just say that too- you're right, it is about luck. Fine, if you want to believe that it all comes down to luck, go ahead and believe that. I have no stake in the outcome of your or anyone else's life, only you and they do. Do not say however, that it is the govt or some downswing in the economy that is responsible for your "bad luck". There are too many people who have advanced themselves on their own, maybe even failed a few times along the way, but ultimately made their own good luck happen.
When I saw this thread, I thought I was gonna see naked pics of drunk female celebrities with 2 40s in both hands.
I have long thought you to be myopic and narcissistic, and now you provide further evidence. "Anyone can be like me" is a statement of profound ignorance and self absorption. "Any wise trader thinks to himself "if this market isn't moving, I'm gonna go find a market that is". Sure thing Jim Cramer...you find us that bull market. "Like Mike if I could be like Mike..." More stupidity that sold a bunch of shoes...