Economics
The break is over…I start back to school this Monday for semester number two. Four classes are on tap for the semester – two economic classes and two accounting classes, one each the first half of the semester and one each the second half. Thankfully, they shouldn’t be too tough. I already have accounting homework, and what I’ve do so far really hasn’t been bad at all. I did have both accounting and econ in undergrad, so like my statistics class, the material should be familiar to me, at least at the start of the class. The tough part of these classes is that so much is crammed into so short a time.
It’s an exciting time to have an economics class, though, with the decline in the value of the dollar, the sub-prime mortgage “crisis” and a possible recession as the current hot topics. I’m hoping I have a good teacher and there’s a lot of discussion about current events. That’s one reason I loved econ so much in undergrad and started pursuing a business minor – the material we were learning was remarkably relevant and applied directly to everyday events and news.
In a weird sort of way, I’ve kinda enjoyed reading and listening to all these analysts and so-called experts lately, with their doomsday scenarios and screams that the sky is falling. I usually laugh at what I hear. 
Then you have all the political candidates who are taking advantage of the fear and tout their schemes to fix the economy, redo the tax system, etc. Like Washington can really do anything for the common folk. When’s the last time the government has lived within their means, that they have stuck to a budget and spent less than they made? Don’t expect a political candidate to fix your financial life. Even if taxes are lowered now, the spending in Washington won’t change and they’ll have to raise them later or figure some other way to pay for their spending habits.
Don’t buy into all the hype you’re hearing from the “experts.” For every one expert that predicts doom and gloom, you can find one that says things will be fine. In the end, do they really have any more of a clue what’s going on than we do? What’s probably going to happen is that enough people will believe the fear mongering coming from the main-stream media and financial writers seeking a byline and attention, and what you have then is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Stick to a budget, spend less than you make, understand in what you’re investing, don’t sell fear and buy hype and invest for the long term and you’ll be fine, no matter what the markets are doing right now or who is leading the country.
Hmm, guess I got on a little soapbox there. This is good stuff, though!
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Still remember you emailing me about Car-Part's website.
Maybe those economic classes will open your eyes and show you Mike Huckabee is not the right person to be president.
Economic policy is not the only thing I look at, nor is it the most important.
Oooo, politics AND economics in one post!
Well, fearmongering does sell papers, but the general thought is that we’re in an environments similar to 1987–lots of speculation, a new Fed chairman, and a huge budget deficit leading to a weakening dollar. People fear the interconnectedness of the economy (both global and national), and how much the data available hasn’t kept-up with speculation. Corporations can be wholly “rotten” these days without any indications before outright failure–Enron, Countrywide, etc.–and that causes the market to be nervous.
I am confident the American economy can survive. It survived recession in the 1980′s, the crash of 1987, and the terrorist attacks of 9/11. However, since most participants in that economy (consumers) don’t practice living within their means, it will make any down-turn doubly painful.
Curious, what do you look for? Not interested in starting an intense debate, but I would be curious to know.
In a nutshell, the things I look for are the intangibles, not policies or opinions on war, economics, etc. I look for character and quality. I look for someone who can actually lead a country, who can bring people of various beliefs, political parties, etc. together as much as possible to make decisions and get things done in the stagnant swamp that is Washington. I look for someone who’s a servant leader and will think of others before himself. I look for someone who is a visionary and has ideas, and isn’t afraid to share them. I look for someone who has experience, but isn’t afraid to admit when he/she is wrong and knows there’s room for growth. I look for someone who is strong, who will stand up for his beliefs, even if I may not agree with them all, especially when faced with persecution. I look for someone who can work with others, who has an ear to listen to others, especially when they are lacking in knowledge in certain areas. I look for someone who isn’t afraid to WORK. I look for some one who can be flexible and open-minded but won’t sacrifice their morals and beliefs, whatever they may be. I could probably go on some more, but you get the general idea. As per our previous discussion, I did support a different candidate, but he simply is not stepping up or empowering anyone. He has not proven himself to be a leader. I’m not trying to knock on him, but he hasn’t shown me any reason why he would be able to lead a country, even if he has great ideas and similar values. It takes more than just that ideas… We can talk about it more over IM if you want. I don’t want to get into an intense debate, either, but you do make me consider things from a different perspective and pick at the areas where I’m weak and need to learn more.
I don’t think any presidential candidate has had those qualities in quite a long while.
I guess I look for someone who speaks in specifics and not in political talk, so that I have a good idea of what he/she is going to do. I look at their history as a great indicator of what the future might be. Thats where I have a problem with Huckabee.
Test
No, I haven’t seen a presidential candidate yet that exhibits all the characteristics and qualities I’m looking for, including Huckabee. The ones I mentioned are basically a grocery list of *my* *ideal* qualities.
I know this doesn’t make for interesting debates or smeer campaigns, but has anyone else started looking for the canidates who are campaigning on something they can actually accomplish. I still care about “the issues,” but I’ve started to believe that they are just a circle jerk to get people impassioned.
Take abortion, for instance. One way or the other, almost everyone has a really strong opinion on the issue (including myself). However, if anything was going to be changed about it, it would have been done in 05. They had the votes. They had the right people in power who claimed to be opposed to it. Instead, it was never even brought up.
FF to the mud flinging from about a year ago, and you have almost everyone with a microphone saying that the “efforts” in Iraq had always been a bad idea (including people who had voted in favor of them on every possible occasion). “Now that it’s too late to do anything, let it be publicly known that I am against it.”
Got an opinion on abortion? Good for you, but unless you’re actively doing something to change it aside from standing on a pedistool extoling your own virtues (whatever they may be), what good does it do to talk about it.
Against the war? Does it matter now? A total & flat withdrawal isn’t exactly an option. Anyone remember the “30,000 troop withdrawal in six months” announcement that was made within two months of 30,000 additional troops being sent overseas?
Obviously, I’ve got a bad taste in my mouth. I’m at the point where I just want to see some sort of progression in our society. When I hear a canidate start to talk about a real problem with a concrete solution that can be passed in the current political climate, they’ll get my vote. Say what you want about Slick Willie, but at least “3 Strikes” has stuck. Say what you want about Ronnie McRegan, but at least Reganomics worked.
Oh, and in case you couldn’t tell, Chris, I LOVED your post. You’re a really awesome dude, and I’m lucky to have you as a friend. I like what you look for, even if it’s not always the same.
Glad you liked the post, James, and thanks for sharing your opinion. I think we both have similar frustrations with all talk and no action. Sounds like we’ll have some good things to discuss on our road trip
Agreed with the statement all talk….I just love how in the past few years the new political term is “I have a comprehensive plan that will solve this problem and that problem” and exactly what is that plan mister/misses canidate, oh that’s right you don’t really have a plan, just want bragging rights for saying you do. This happens on both sides of the political spectrum. But I do believe I started hearing John Kerry say that first.
That goes right along with another statement I love “we condemn those acts”, wow I am sure those words make the terrorists tremble with fear.
How much of Dave have you listened to? You are starting to sound like him in what you posted. Just so you know…some of those “experts” do actually know what they are talking about more so than you and I the common q public, but then again what they say is not necessarily what is going to happen, but we do need to fix the economy. As it is currently tanking in more ways than one.
We could always get rid of the Fed with Ron Paul…the Federal Reserve is unconstitutional anyway…
@Sean – Like you said, many politicians just want to go on the record with their stance, to cover their butt or distance themselves from the unpopular issues, to get people impassioned to vote for them because they’re different, etc., but they really don’t do anything about once they have the chance. And you’re right, it’s not limited to one party…it’s all over Washington, as well as in the state governments.
@David – No, we can’t get rid of the Reserve with Ron Paul. What you said about Paul is exactly what I was “ranting” against. Huckabee and his Fair Tax ideas, Paul wanting to get rid of the Reserve, those that want a flat tax, etc. I think this is all just talk. It will take a lot of hard work and time for any of that to ever happen, and one man can’t do it. Just because that’s their stance on the issue and what they support in no way means it will get accomplished if they become President. It has to get through Congress, and who knows what other red tape, and we all know how hard it is to bring congress together on issues and get anything accomplished in Washington. That’s why I don’t rely too heavily on what the politicians say, but more on their character and leadership abilities. Someone who is a good leader and can unite the country has a much better shot at instituting their policies than someone who just mouths off to get elected for the fame and prestige.
How many times has the economy tanked in the past? And how many times has it recovered? Every time. Look at the long term, historical data for the market. Many times, after a stock market “crash,” the market goes gangbusters soon after. Downtimes happen – it’s part of the cycle. In the end, the market has averaged, I think, about 10% growth per year. There’s nothing to worry about unless you like playing around with your money in the market. Short term, you’re probably in trouble; long term, you’ll be fine. Let your money sit for years, and you probably won’t even notice a blip on the radar.
Not trying to poke the fire, but didn’t Sean and Chris support Bush? He has hardly united this country. One problem I have with some of the Republican candidates is they are leaning too heavily on religion. I realize the religious right in this country is a strong group to have in your hand, but that will hardly unite this country.
Problem with the democrats…there isn’t a strong candidate among them. Hillary could be a strong politician but I think she likes to play the blame game too much. Barack is just too new to the game – although some claim that is his strong suit.
Yep, I voted for Bush in ’00 and ’04. I probably would still vote for him, too. You’re right, he hasn’t united the country or done what I thought he would do, but like you said, there aren’t many strong democratic candidates that would give me any reason to vote for them. Most of the democrats are so wishy-washy and not strong with their beliefs, which just compounds the lack of leadership.
Yep I voted for Bush too, in ’00 and again in ’04, not ashamed of that vote either. He still seems to have a good moral “Christian” character. (sorry Paul). It would be nice to see this country get back to it’s Christian roots, you know, since this country was founded by God (the Christian God) fearing people. Back in the days where the office of President of the United States was actually respected and citizens actually got behind the war effort because they supported this great country. Those forgetten days of prayer and times when the name of God was allowed to be referenced in public schools. You know the day when breaking the law was an unspeakable and criminal acts against children were in very small occurances….
…he just said something that makes me proud…proud to be a Christian)
But these are just rantings by a member of the religious right.
(Nothing against Paul, I still like him