For all of those clamoring for economic good news, the recent upswing (market conditions at this press time notwithstanding) in the stock market may bring you some comfort. In a sea of seemingly disastrous financial news, the small recovery in the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been somewhat comforting. But behind every cloud’s silver lining is, well, to put it plainly – a cloud.
This is an interesting article on the current world financial situation – and I think that it is realistic. No pie in the sky – no unrealistic optimism. Just plain, straightforward assessments of the situation. The author is not predicting global financial collapse or depression, but he does make it clear that there is plenty more bad news coming down the pike.
More tangible evidence that Jane and John Q. are really feeling the pain and hunkering down in earnest, was the sharp decline in September retail sales to a three-year low. Nothing short of horrendous is the latest bulletins on housing. Starts of single-family homes in September plummeted 12% to still another 26-year nadir. And building permits, a precursor for homebuilding, skidded 8.3% to the lowest level since November 1981. And factory chimneys across a broad swath of industries have started to emit dust instead of smoke.
Those chronic optimists, who have become a bit more shy about trilling their joyous notes in recent months, shrug off the downpour of dismal data as "old news". Old, shmold, it hurts just the same, and-you can bank on it-there’s plenty more where that came from.
He also makes a very good point. Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat – we should all be able to agree that both Ben Bernanke (Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank) and Henry Paulson (Secretary of the Treasury) should have seen this crisis coming long ago and taken proactive steps to mitigate the systemic damage. They did not. And today, we entrust them to administer the nearly $1 Trillion of Welfare being given to Financial Institutions and we trust them to safely guide us out of this crisis.
But for some strange reason we don’t find it entirely reassuring that the very same people charged with foreseeing and forestalling the credit disaster and who so miserably failed to do so — Paulson and Bernanke somehow leap to mind — are entrusted with the formidable task of repairing the damage. Mark it down to our being an incurable malcontent.
It is important to remember in times like these that our only real hope for the future is to cry out God help us. All things, after all, are indeed in His hands. Let’s us keep our trust in Him – and do our part to be good stewards of what we have been given by Him – plan accordingly, knowing He guides our paths – and knowing that none of this comes as a surprise to Him.