Economic panic-mongering

Arg. It kills me when I hear people constantly complaining about our economy.

Folks, it's not only not bad news, it's actually pretty good. We not only haven't entered a national recession, a recession isn't really all that bad anyway. Which people would realize if they even knew what a recession really is. In fact, we have seen continued growth in GDP, though admittedly at a reduced rate of growth. The dollar has stabilized and is expected to recover against the Euro.

With oil prices at historic highs, we still see gasoline prices at a lower percentage of our disposable income. Not to mention, a massive new oil deposit has been discovered in North Dakota.


Unemployment is very low. The "normal" rate of unemployment is considered to be around 5%; the average "friction" of the job market as new employees enter the workforce, people change jobs, companies go in and out of business, and individuals find marginal gains to be had from working outside the home or in formal occupations rather than black market, grey market, and undeclared self-employment. All it takes to be "unemployed" is to declare an intent or desire to find formal work.

Granted, some areas are harder hit than others. These mostly appear to be strongholds of labour unions and regulation which strangle growth and private industry. Some particular market segments are harder hit than others- new housing in particular. However, what else does one expect after unchecked booming growth, but that there will be a period of adjustment while things catch up? I personally plan to buy more real estate in the next year to 18 months, because I don't think the housing slump will last long at all. Population is still growing.

This is the same tactic that is used to panic people about government spending "cuts" when it is really a situation like such:

Congress votes an annual increase of 15% over five years, but doesn't increase the budget enough to cover it. The entitlement program whose ox is gored cries about "cuts" when really it is a case of not funding the further expansion of the program.

That's what we have here. The economy has certainly slowed, but it hasn't decreased and is unlikely to do so. In fact, it is more likely by far to increase again rather than go negative. Panic-mongers and Chicken Littles will have you believe everything is in the crapper, but the truth is that we're riding along on greased rails.