Hitting Bottom 101

Seems like everybody is frightened to death about The Economy. Or maybe I should say THE ECONOMY OMG!!! :-((( I say give it up, folks, we've been there, done that and the end of the world is not just around the corner, at least not in any way that we can imagine it now. Shoe bomb? Maybe. Economic disaster for us underlings? Naw.

To a large degree, the "economy" is a virtual concept. We, meaning everyone who plays in the economic game, which is nearly everyone, help determine what is "good" and what is "bad". This is basic economic theory. If a stock like Sears is selling for $20 today, after being much higher than that for decades, try to recall that today's $20 is a price higher than the $15 it sold for at some time in the past. Economic facts only have meaning when taken in context. Yes, the "bottom" has fallen out of the stock market, but that has meaning only when viewed in the light of our expectations. As the "bottom" falls out, prices go down. I don't think that lower prices are such a bad thing. It all slides up and down together.

Now, if gas were still selling for $4.50 a gallon, I'd be singing a different tune! Yes, some companies will go into bankruptcy (which doesn't necessarily mean they will go out of business). Some years ago Montgomery Ward went out of business after nearly 130 years of being one of the biggest department stores in the world. Other retailers have taken their place. Even communism can't stop capitalism, as we have seen in the former USSR!

The Bush administration is largely responsible for the mess we're in now. Accumulating that much debt in such a short time was so stupid and so irresponsible I can't even think of a word for it! Printing lots more money in order to bail us out will not solve the problem, either. But I believe that human nature, being what it is, will get us out of this mess. People want things, and they're willing to work for them. The scale has lowered all but a few of the folks who got super-rich during the Bush administration. We're all going to have it harder than we thought. But I don't think this is the end of the world.

I also believe that everyone is fearful. Churchill's comment comes to mind. Maybe that is indeed what we should be most afraid of--our own fear.

I'm no expert, as is probably glaringly obvious. But most of us are stewing in the same pot. At least we know it now, and we'll find ways of working together to improve things. Last year, I decided to take a long RV trip because I was certain that gas prices would just keep going up, so I'd better get it while I could. Boy, was I wrong! Those high prices reduced accidents and pollution, and led to increased sales of hybrid cars. Rising grocery prices, due in large part to increased transportation costs, caused more people to begin to raise their own food and to buy locally. Today's economic problems will have "bad" consequences, but they'll also have "good" consequences, most of which we have not yet anticipated.

When things are bad, we assume they'll just get worse. When they're good, we don't even notice! Humans! Gotta love us....