My Dad would have loved this economic free fall. He predicted the next Great Depression for as long as I can remember. He didn't just react to bad economic news, he went searching for it. It justified his fear.
The lesson was: if you're feeling good now, don't get used to it. The end is nigh.
I've been thinking a lot about my Dad these past few weeks because the anniversary of his death is coming up, and the pathetic fallacy of the Wall Street turmoil seems an apt vigil.
As for me, I tend to stay away from the news these days.
Maybe it's a little denial, but I really believe in that thing called "consumer confidence". If people think everything is okay, it'll be okay.
That doesn't mean you should buy a $500,000 home with 50 cents down and no money in the bank. It just means that you need to move beyond the immobilizing force of fear.
Attitude is everything: in life and in economics.
1 comment:
Clearly people got very very greedy to the point of stupidity. And people bought homes with no money and they bought WAAAY out of their means.
But it was that herd mentality.
What I couldn't understand, was, how everyone in the US in this big southern city could afford Lexus', BMWs, Mercedes and drive to their 400K$ house on a 40K$ salary.
My house, my car, my life - all paid off. Zero debt. I used to think maybe I was WAAY too conservative. Now I am feeling pretty good. Not smug. Maybe relieved.
The morons on Wall Street got greedy and were playing a shell game. Many should go to prison.
I cannot believe what we did to ourselves in the US.
I went to Starbucks last night after my flight before a meeting. The kid behind the counter was asking me if the bailout passed (he was all of 18 yrs old), the man across from me was asking about it. everyone in Starbuck was asking about it.
I too turned off the news. I turned it off a long time ago. I am a little misinformed. But I have not really missed too much.
Great post !
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