
Imagine no possessions - I'm telling you I can
A relative of mine who also happens to sell real estate has been posting here recently crowing about stock market gains, corporate profitability and, presumably, coming peace in the Middle East. Ah, that’s the advantage of being a little brother- you can be completely, dead wrong, and you’ll still get a Christmas present from your indulgent better.
But Gideon, here’s the problem with your happy view: 1. Corporations have not “discovered a way to stay profitable” – their earnings are up because they’ve fired people and slashed costs. Their sales are down, their revenue is down and when they run out of costs they can cut, bad things will happen. 2. Unemployment is much, much higher than the 10% reported because it doesn’t count the non-payroll jobs: independent contractors, employees at the deli, etc., who make up a huge portion of the workforce, and, as Seeking Alpha explains, those losses are staggering. 3. Housing prices are in the toilet and have further to go. We’ve seen the equity of every buyer since 2002 wiped out and we’re on our way to further losses. You can’t erase billions of dollars of wealth from the broad population without serious consequences. 4. (and 5,6, etc). Congress is preparing to raise taxes on employers and employees, triple the cost of energy and kick inflation into high gear. None of this should give you cheer.
Did I mention Obamakare?