Give me your best guess — will the economy improve significantly in the U.S. and worldwide in the coming new year? I really don’t know, either.
I spent some time earlier today reading some posts about “best-guess” economics, and believe me I did NOT come away feeling happy about the future. The good news is that these were not economists, merely some online marketing people who had read some articles related to the future of our financial system, housing markets, and the credit industry. In other words, they may or may not be right. If the last three or four months have proven anything they have proven that not even the “experts” know what lies ahead for the economy.
Unfortunately, when the entire economic structure of the known civilized world is hurt or “broken,” there are no quick fixes. There aren’t any simple POS systems we can set up and quickly manage all the economic chaos going on out there right now.
But I choose to have faith. I have faith that the U.S. is a fundamentally strong nation and that sound leadership and sober decisions by all of us can get us out of this mess. I reject the dire predictions of a “Second Great Depression.” For one thing, as a sort of “junior historian,” I know the present situation has similarities with the first Great Depression, but a LOT of differences, too.
We’re all in this together, and I choose to hope (and pray) that we’ll ultimately get through this together.