What were you doing a year ago today? I was at work, probably writing on sticky-notes some ideas for Weakonomics. Check on November in the archives if you want to know what I was writing about.
Looking back in time is so easy now thanks to tools like the NY Times archive. We can see what the United States was thinking about. So what was on our minds a year ago?
Obama had recently won some kind of election and the media coverage of that was finally starting to dwindle. However, he was still working on his cabinet. Word leaked out that this guy Timothy Geithner may be the one to be Treasury Secretary. To most of us he was an unknown, but by this point he’d already orchestrated a bailout for Wall Street as the FED’s point man in New-York. Unknown my arse, in a few years he’s going to be on the dollar, which will be worthless thanks to him.
On the west coast California was having their own financial issues. Since states can’t run deficits, and California had a big one, they were in some deep poop. This is what happens when you let the general population vote on propositions, they vote to never raise taxes but increase spending. Of course, so does our Congress.
Littering the headlines and grabbing everyone’s attention, including this blog’s (check the archive) was the Detroit Auto Bailout. We gave Wall Street $700 billion, we can give Detroit $25 billion right? GM and Chrysler needed cash to avoid bankruptcy and protect thousands of jobs. Of course we gave them the money, and they still went bankrupt. We’re now the largest shareholder in GM, and Chrysler is a pathetic excuse of an American car company. The oddest thing is Ford looked like a hero simply by getting a D in success instead of an F.
In investor news some were thinking the market might have bottomed with the S&P500 below 900, but didn’t really care because it was low enough to start investing again. Warren Buffett was among them. Another investor thought S&P could go from current level of about 870 to into the 600s if recession is bad. Sure enough, the March 2009 bottom was in the 670s. It’s now above 1100. So what if they didn’t get the bottom right, no one can. But if you bought the S&P 500 index at 870 and it’s now about 1100 just a year later, you’ve got a nice return.
Which brings me back to today. We no longer discuss the bailout of Wall Street or Detroit. We’re now talking about a health care bill that may be some of the most important legislation of the 21st century. Gold is insanely expensive, stocks for some reason are really high. GDP grew last quarter, but unemployment has topped 10%. Obviously we’re still sorting through this mess.
What will the world look like in a year? Will the price of gold matter or will it probably be at some number less headline worthy? Will we be talking about10% unemployment, 8%, or 12%? Maybe some news about how the healthcare bill has passed but has taken way too long to implement since the bill weighs more than what is considered obese in the United States. Even worse, will Sarah Palin be starting her campaign for 2012? Perish the thought. Nightmares, daydreams, hallucinations, and miracles all are in the pipeline. But if history is any indicator, most of the news will be forgotten.
So tell me reader, what is the headline for 11/17/2010?
 By The Weakonomist |
The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice. |
