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So Many Questions

By Larry Doyle on March 7, 2009 at 6:25 PM in American Consumers, Current Affairs, Economy

question-cubeIn the midst of any storm, one wonders what the landscape may look like when the dust settles. Well, our current economic tsunami is no mere rainy day at the beach. What will the landscape look like on the other side? Let’s ponder some of the questions we need to ask as we navigate forward:

1. Which companies will no longer exist as currently formulated?

2. Will companies become smaller, more simplified, with less financial engineering?

3. How will regulation of the financial industry look? Could it have a global basis? Will national interests prevail over global demands?

4. Where will the DJIA be on March 7, 2010? March 7, 2014?

5. What will the unemployment rate be on those dates?

6. What will Obama’s approval ratings look like on that first date? Which Obama program will be deemed successful?

7. Where will housing be one year out? How about five years out?

8. In the world of international relations, will this crisis bring the world together or push it apart? Will the economic instability lead to greater social unrest which leads to political instability? If so, where? How extensive?

9. Will we lose a generation of investors? How will the asset management industry be reformulated through this storm? Which companies will seize opportunities, provide stellar products and services and grow? Which won’t?

10. Will our nation truly recapture a sense of values, decency, and integrity or is that mere talk?

11. Will the birth rates for children borne to single parents change?

12. Will school performance improve or will our urban dropout rate remain at 50%?

13. Who will become the leader of the Republican Party?

14. Is there any chance of a legitimate 3rd party developing given the massive chokehold that the two party system filled with lobbyists’ money currently has on our government?

15. Who will be the new enlightened entrepreneurs that develop new products and markets?

16. Are our nation’s better days behind us after 235 years since our birth? Are we “more talk, less action” and resultingly a fat and lazy nation? If we reviewed rates of obesity in our land, one can make a very compelling case. Has that mindset permeated our culture?

17. What will the rate of inflation be a year from now? 5 years from now?

18. Will we ever deal with the rampant problems involved with illegal immigration?

Has there ever been a point in time when we have had so much uncertainty on so many fronts? The markets are a reflection of so much of this uncertainty at this point in time.

What questions do you have?

LD

  • bart

    How will Europe deal with financial meltdown and difficult immigrant assimilation?

  • jwrjr

    6. Every one of Obama’s programs can fail and the Obots (including, especially, the MSM) will declare the Obama “administration” to be a wonderful success. Any failures will be all Bush’s fault.

    • Ferd Berfle

      Any failures will be all Bush’s fault.

      Yep, just as the Shrubbies blamed Clinton. It is all in keeping with the bot mentality.

  • Ferd Berfle

    I have a single question–what happened to the American “can-do” spirit?

    • C.S.

      It got quashed in the 2008 election and it takes some time to revive it. But we’re working on it, there are new “Boston tea parties” scheduled for April 15 and 25 to show the political parties that have ignored us for a decade just what we “can do.”

      • Ferd Berfle

        new “Boston tea parties”

        I like that idea. Where do I sing up?

        • Ferd Berfle

          Where do I sing up?

          Although I will sing its praises, all I really want to do is “sign” up.

          Damn, I’m a fat-fingered bastard tonight.

    • http://www.senseoncents.com LD

      Ferd….You and I are thinking alike. Please see my most recent post on my new blog,Sense on Cents. The piece is called Entrepreneurial Spirit.

      Check it out at http://www.senseoncents.com.

      • Ferd Berfle

        A little imagination and elbow grease can certainly work wonders, for sure. I’ve often thought about doing something different.

    • trixta

      America’s can-do spirit was wiped out by the can-hope spirit.

      • Ferd Berfle

        That’s for sure, Trixta. Hoping and doing are two very different things. Wishing in one hand, etc.

  • HARP

    Overall, 56% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President’s performance so far while 43% disapprove.

    http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

    • olivia1998

      “56% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President’s performance so far while 43% disapprove”

      A small ray of sunshine in an otherwise dismal future

    • http://www.hillaryorbust.com Hillary or Bust

      I wonder how many people are in “approval” mode because they just can’t admit to themselves that they bought a lemon.

      • Ferd Berfle

        All of them. And their excuses run the gamut from the sun was in my eyes to it’s all Clinton’s fault.

      • Peggy Sue

        I think that’s the only thing keeping the approval percentages up: the Obamatrons can’t admit they made a mistake, yet. All I keep hearing from the shills is: Obama inherited this mess and we need time to “see” the results of the programs in place.

        Meanwhile, all I see is the market and the economy at large in freefall. Sorry, but I think the Dow’s nosedive is way beyond a “gyration” on the order of a political popularity poll.

        Earlier I read that the current Whitehouse excuse for the Brown diss is the volume of work. Obama is absolutely “overwhelmed” by the sheer volume of things that need his attention.

        I’m not sure what is more distressing: the President of the United States being rude to our closest ally. Or clueless about the weight of the biggest job in the world.

        He’s fatigued after what: 46 days in office??

        Oh, please! And I just heard another bank failed, this one in GA. Coming soon to a movie house near you, I’m afraid.

        I guess my main question to Larry is concerning inflation. I hear more and more people talking about hyper-inflation as a reality sooner than we would like to think. Do you agree?

        • http://www.senseoncents.com LD

          I believe the risk of hyper-inflation is very real….when there is so much currency pumped into the economy once a little traction develops and the money supply multiplies …watch out…the Fed will have to aggresively raise rates…

        • butter

          Have you see Glenn Beck’s vid on the increase in the money supply, the thing that determines inflation – certainly hyper-inflation? Here it is:
          http://www.youtube..com/watch?v=lNS8IY_Td14

          Business is definitely shrinking but I think inflation is already afoot. Shrinking business normally means falling prices as businessmen are willing to lower their margins to keep customers coming in the door. But I’m noticing prices heading up.

          Comparing the increase in the money supply in the last three months with what it has been is mind-blowing. I think the fear the populace is feeling about the economy and their futures is soon to spread to the Obamacrats as they realize that O’s inflation is going to blow them sky high.

    • trixta

      56% somewhat
      43% disapprove

      56% “somewhat” is not reassuring. These percentages in total mean that 99% of the public are, at best, leery about some aspects of Obama’s economic policy thus far.

    • Sammie

      What’s with the “somewhat”? It sounds like the somewhat qualifier most likely resulted in a higher approval rating.

  • KmX

    And finally we will realize the President is:

    One
    Bad
    Arrogant
    Mistake
    America

  • http://none jessiebritton

    All these polls need to be taken with “a grain of salt”, because when you have one element of the poll being supported by 96% of the participants. To be accurate it would have to be weighted by the ethnic groups polled. Most newly elected Presidents poll within these numbers during the first hundred days.

  • http://watchpaul.blogspot.com Rose

    Whatever happened to the idea that when you run out of money you STOP SPENDING?

    You don’t go out and run up your credit cards, apply for and get 50 new credit cards and run them up, mortgage your house with 125% mortgage, get a loan on your car, borrow from all your friends with no intention of paying them back – and call that your recovery plan.

    Or is that the Transformative Change we’ve been waiting for?

  • Linda C.

    It isn’t really just the spending. It is what we are spending it on. We are pumping tons of money into large financial institutions that are essentially dead. My biggest concern is that we are doing this at risk of loosing other financial institutions that aren’t dead yet, but soon will be because they will get pulled down by the big bottomless pit called AIG, BofA and CITI. As we pour more funds into these dead banks, we are siphoning off money that can be directly pumped into the economy for more job creation. As people loose more and more jobs, more business go under then the financial health of the other banks become at risk and they fail.

    AIG, BofA, & CITI have trillions of dollars with investments and debts all over the world. So the problem is what to do with them. No one wants to take them over and break them up. No one wants them just to collapse. So we are pouring money into them hoping for some miracle to happen. In other words, our leaders don’t want to lead and make a decision. As they delay decisions, the economic situation gets worse, investors don’t know where to put their money because everything is in suspended animation while the rest of the economy goes into the toilet.

  • oowawa

    LD, I have a question: I was very puzzled by the sudden upward burst in Friday’s stock market in the last half hour before the close. It looked orchestrated. Could a government possibly engineer such a sudden jump? If it were possible, would it be illegal for a government to manipulate the market in this way? I guess I’m the suspicious sort.

    • http://www.senseoncents.com LD

      Oowawa….the strong close, in my opinion, was nothing but a small amoun tof short covering in an overall thinly traded market. A lot of analysts believe that we have lost a significant percentage of investors from the stock market given both the performance of th emarket and the lack of confidence in the economy. What happens as a result of that?

      The market languishes and is dominated by day traders who trade in a momentum style of trading. That style can create short sharp downward adn upward moves.

      I ignore it.

      I do not think the government would look to manipulate the stock market but I appreciate your line of thinking because it is always prudent to keep your guard up. I woudl not get overly concerned about it though.

      • elise

        LD, are private investors manipulating the market? I checked out your website and it brought up the issue of people working from their homes. There are some disadvantages, but that is what we have done for a long time and it’s working pretty well. It cuts down on overhead and we get a break on income tax deductions by declaring depreciation. I have another question: If the big three declare bankruptcy on chapter eleven, how will that affect the companies whose major business is supplying parts for auto manufacturing? As far as the future is concerned, the landscape is going to be different. I heard some “experts” talking on FOX this morning and they are really trying to sell reinvesting in the market with all kinds of promises of a huge rally after things settle down and I think they’re full of it for two reasons. First they are assuming the current situation will be resolved soon, within the next two years and second, they are assuming people who have seen their savings dwindle will be willing to take another chance on the market. One last thing we have talked about is where the new technology will come from to reinvigorate the American spirit. It could be something so bizarre most of us wouldn’t be able to comprehend how it will change our world. Nano tech is one possibility and another is the development of completely new materials which will be lighter and stronger than anything which exists today. Replacing plastic, which requires petroleum and isn’t easily biodegradable (how many recycle?), might seem impossible but so was plastic and aluminum at one time. The industrial revolution brought about many changes which changed our lives, but we seem to be stuck in the past and use all our resources for war.

  • lizzy

    LD,
    That clip you mentioned was very interesting. It gave some good strategies in a small busines. By renting equipment he was able to have more flexibility in his business. With your post, I am curious how people will finally react to immigration. I have been disturbed by the immigrant bashing I see. I am the granddaughter of immigrants and I think that they have made important contributions to our country.

    • http://www.senseoncents.com LD

      Lizzy,

      My folks spent years tracking their genealogy. The amount of work and pride they took in the documentation of our heritage is trully moving.

      We are a country of immigrants.

      My point about immigration is fpcused strictly on the “illegal immigration”. I truly think we do EVERYBODY involved in the process a huge disservice. Are the illegal immigrants improving their track in life or are they in a position of strictly subsistence. Is our country better off with a significant population here under illegal status?

      I think it lowers the bar and cheapens the goal of legalized status and eventual citizenship.

      Maybe I am missing something but I am at a loss as to where and how we got so far off this track.

      I would propose some form of amnesty over a set period of time and then start operating by the book again.

  • Elizabeth

    I’m not looking forward to a transformative change when this all bottoms out sometime early to mid 2010. At least in Elkhart County, RV capital of the world now to forever. Unemployment may be 19.2% (up 3% Dec-Jan) and hundreds of manufacturers, suppliers or related businesses have closed or moved away; but all people can talk about is when financing will open up again allowing for the sale of more trailers.

    What happened to American ingenuity indeed ?

  • mountainaires

    My question is this:

    Does ANYONE out there believe Jim Cramer anymore?

    [snarky on sunday]

    Pushing toy stuffed bears through a meat slicer, the screaming, peripatetic CNBC anchor Jim Cramer declared that he “had unbelievable guts to call a bottom,” and said:

    “I am indeed sticking my neck out right here, right now, declaring emphatically that I believe the market will not revisit the panicked lows it hit on July 15. and I think anyone out there who’s waiting for that low to be breached is in for a big disappointment and [they’re] missing a great deal of upside.

    Stop waiting, [and] buy the next dip because I think it might be the last big one.”

    August 1, 2008

  • Sassy

    LD, two things caught my attention this last week.
    Senator Brownback, in advocating for the airplane manufacturers in his state, pointed out that only 1 in 10 airports in this country accomodate large jets, creating a necessity for companies to have their own small planes. Congress may have felt good giving those business owners a black eye, but that does not change the fact that these are good jobs for Americans.
    Cal Thomas did an article about the cancellations of business conferences that seem lavish in todays economy, but actually are causing large numbers of lost jobs in the hotel industry.
    Corruption in government…corruption in business.
    Choose your poison!

    • http://www.senseoncents.com LD

      How about if we try to apply a large dose of rationale common sense to the mix. If some of the statements coming out of Washington weren’t so pathetic they would actually be comical.

      I honestly think that Obama and his staff are doing and saying things that reflect the tremendous lack of experience he possesses.

      Ready on Day 1?? Will he be ready on Day 100?

  • Sammie

    http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/op_ed/hc-rennie-dodd-house0308.artmar08,0,6379102.column

    “It takes considerable political skill for a U.S. senator to win a presidential pardon for a friend without the traditional review by the Justice Department. Sen. Christopher Dodd moved the furtive levers of power in 2001 for Edward R. Downe, convicted of tax and securities fraud eight years before. A man will do a lot for a former real estate partner.”

    __________________

    Wonder if the Senate will ever investigate Dodd? It seems as though he’s been involved in more questionable deals than just his friends of Angelo Countrywide mortgage.

  • Miss H

    Webster G. Tarpley has written an excellent article, “Obamavilles in America” , in which he compares the shanty towns of the 1890s, the tents in Hooverville in the 1930s, and now we see tent cities once again in Sacramento CA, as well as other American cities. Mr. Tarpley lays the blame squarely on the shoulders of the bankers and their highly leveraged, Ponzi like derivative schemes. America has been sold out, to bale out the bankers. The bankers don’t care where you live, as long as they get theirs. Totally disgusting behavior and the bankers and those in the Federal Reserve should have to pay for their illegal, shameful, and destructive schemes. At a minimum they should not be the ones we turn to, to get us out of this mess. They are the ones who initiated it in the first place. It is like the foxes standing around a decimated hen house, with feathers and blood on their lips, ghoulishly grinning as we, the American people, drive in with a new truck load of chicks.

    I agree with Mr. Tarpley: “START A MASS MOVEMENT TO WIPE OUT THE DERIVATIVES CANCER AND SHUT DOWN THE ZOMBIE BANKS”

    http://www.infowars.com/obamavilles-in-america/

  • Miss H

    Webster G. Tarpley has written an excellent article, “Obamavilles in America” , in which he compares the shanty towns of the 1890s, the tents in Hooverville in the 1930s, and now we see tent cities once again in Sacramento CA, as well as other American cities. Mr. Tarpley lays the blame squarely on the shoulders of the bankers and their highly leveraged, Ponzi like derivative schemes. America has been sold out, to bale out the bankers. The bankers don’t care where you live, as long as they get theirs. Totally disgusting behavior and the bankers and those in the Federal Reserve should have to pay for their illegal, shameful, and destructive schemes. At a minimum they should not be the ones we turn to, to get out of this mess. They are the ones who initiated it in the first place. It is like the foxes standing around a decimated hen house, with feathers and blood on their lips, ghoulishly grinning as we the American people drive in with a new truck load of chicks.

    I agree with Mr. Tarpley: “START A MASS MOVEMENT TO WIPE OUT THE DERIVATIVES CANCER AND SHUT DOWN THE ZOMBIE BANKS”

    http://www.infowars.com/obamavilles-in-america/