They say things like, “You sound like you want a depression”. Tell me you haven’t had that thought before.
Actually, what I really want is the same as everyone else. I want to see the economy recover, with stable growth year after year forever.
I just have a more realistic way of thinking about how we are going to get there from where we are today.
I Hate Going to the Dentist
Some of you were lucky enough to be born with good teeth. Not me. I cannot even eat a candy bar without getting a cavity. On top of that, I have a sweet tooth.
Putting off the dentist is like putting off the depression. The longer I wait, the more damage will happen and the more it’s going to cost me to get fixed.
I hate going to the dentist, yet I go because (my wife makes me) I know the consequences of not going are worse than if I do go.
Just the same, I want the bad investments to clear the market as soon as possible, so that the real economic recovery can get started.
The economic disaster we face was caused by a decade of excessive spending, driven by a housing bubble, created by reckless monetary policies.
Why would we want to go down that road again?
When I get back from a visit from the dentist, the last place on earth that I want to go is back to the dentist. I know that junk food is the cause and if I eat more I will end up back at the dentist.
It’s painful not to be able to eat whatever I want, just as it’s painful for us not be able to spend more money then we want. But we must.
We all like to find a way around the consequences of our actions. I sometimes tell myself that if I eat small candy bars, I can avoid the dentist.
Just like we try to look at the latest news and say the economic recovery is coming because consumer spending was up 0.5% in January.
But it’s not going to happen. There is no recovery.
In that same report, personal income was only up by 0.1% and savings dropped. Consumers are broke, credit it tight and savings don’t exist. Therefore, it is virtually impossible for consumers spending to lead to an economic recovery and consumer spending is 70% of the economy.
I cannot even eat the small candy bars just we as a nation cannot continue spending money that we don’t have.
I am trying to bring the nation away from the cliff of economic collapse, by educating consumers to stop spending money that we don’t have.
The more people I can get pulling the nation away from the cliff, the better our chances are that the nation does not go over the cliff. And it doesn’t help that Obama is standing on the gas pedal.
Who Really Wants a Depression?
The question I have is; who it is that really wants a depression?
If I’m trying to avoid a depression and a sinking dollar, then what are the Wall Street economist, the government policy makers and the academic economists trying to do?
They are pushing the nation closer to the edge of the cliff, a complete economic meltdown. Why listen to them?
The Wall Street economist naturally want to continue selling Stocks and Bonds to their customers and are willing to say anything to get more sales.
Government officials are desperately trying to paint a rosy picture of the economy in order to keep their jobs – despite the long-term consequences of their short-term disastrous (cash-for-anything) policies.
The academic economists are busy putting together theoretical models of perpetual prosperity to show that they are valuable to society and capable of leading the nation in economic wizardry.
I'm Only Trying to Save the World
None of the influential economic parties in our culture are telling us the truth. They all have more incentives to be dishonest then to be honest.
I am perhaps the only one you may know that is being completely honest with you about the state of the economy.
I may be the only economist in your corner. All these others jokers are working for your economic destruction.
Saving the U.S. from economic collapse is saving the world from economic collapse. Therefore, I am only trying to save the world. Join me as we try to save the world together.
This article is based on a similar article I read today at the Daily Reckoning. Here is there version.