In no particular order, I’m going to give a brief summary and critique of what I consider some of the most important issues going on around the world at the moment. The first to hit the chopping block………………
United States Economy
Most people seem to be in agreement the United States’ economy is in trouble. There’s all kind of statistics and numbers to support this idea, and there also seems to be a conception that the sky is falling, and everything is going to go to shit, and will never improve.
BBC Stats:“Consumer spending, which makes up two-thirds of the US economy, shrank by 3.1%, the first contraction since 1991. The 0.3% fall followed 2.8% growth in the previous three-month period.”
The New York Times continues the joy and cheer, several of its experts believe unemployment will continue to rise based on the fact that technology sales are down, which indicates businesses are spending less, which translates to lower employment.
The United States’ economy continues to fluctuate based on every new piece of information that emerges regarding the economy and major businesses. According to the NY Times, the drop in GDP was less than analysts expected, there have not been 2 days of consecutive gains in over 30 days.
Now, think about what’s happening in context; the majority of Americans have been overspending their means and have been in debt for a large amount of time now. Based on a number of factors, our economy is not growing: our stock market is down, GDP is down, and unemployment is up. However, if you realize the fact that our previous numbers were all techically inflated because of American overspending, in my opinion, we’re not moving into a bottomless freefall. It’s more like sinking to a natural bottom, which we will then move back up again from. Also, when you look at historical stock prices (I don’t remember where I read this, possibly here), there have been several times when the stock market has decreased sharply, each time around 30%, which is where we are now. If Warren Buffet is buying stocks, then hell no I’m not worried. However, if a loaf of bread starts to cost me $20, then maybe I’ll start to take heed of the falling sky rhetoric.
