Journey with me eight years into the future. It’s 2016; Obama has served a second term in office and his Treasury Secretary is asked to explain the economic situation to an anxious and worried U.S. Congress:
"We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and if I am wrong … somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises ... I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started … And an enormous debt to boot."But these are not the words of some unnamed official of future fantasy. These are the words of Henry Morgenthau taken from the Congressional Record of May 1939 (House Ways & Means Committee). Who was Henry Morgenthau? Only the U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Roosevelt. This is the man who oversaw implementation of Roosevelt’s New Deal policies which after seven years had produced no positive changes in the economy. In fact, by May 1939, the national unemployment rate had once again climbed above the 20th percentile.
Um, not for nuthin', but wouldn't 8 years in the future be 2017?
ReplyDeleteBrilliant Tom. And markets can bottom for a very long time too. What happened when you bought stocks in 1971? Nothing for the next 10 years...There has to be a catalyst in order to make investments now, and so far, all I've seen is reasons to go short the US.
ReplyDeleteWhat's brilliant about this, Michael? Albeit a nice analogy, all Tom's doing is regurgitating history.
ReplyDelete