Yet another holiday-shortened trading week with the MLK national holiday Monday.
It may be a good thing, as the news is nothing, but drama at such a rate that we may need a break just to reflect on where we are.
It seems this Administration can’t keep itself from jumping from one important issue to another.
Not sure we have resolved anything but, for sure, we are not catching our breath.
I am a bit heartened by the economic news of late.
GDP is rising, inflation falling and unemployment holding steady.
That’s not to say times are roses and sunshine. That couldn’t be anything more from the truth.
It seems that social issues drive the news cycle. These are all significant and should be dealt with accordingly.
I find my focus locked into the economy. I find people are much happier when the economy is growing.
Social issues are still there, but manageable. Maybe that is my shortsighted nature.
I will say our national debt is not going away.
It is becoming difficult for families to handle health care costs.
As a nation, we haven’t come to a consensus on immigration or foreign policy.
It can be understood as we are a nation that is politically split down the middle.
No matter who is in charge, half the country is upset. The only thing keeping me from acting out is that I am too old to be really impacted. That is not a good reason to disengage though.
Part of the reason I am so fascinated by the economy is that all of the factors mentioned impact the economy.
It is a zero-sum game, in that, everything impacts something else.
You take the recent events in Venezuela, which have lowered crude prices. Moreover, it could limit the influence of China in the Western Hemisphere and hampers Cuba’s ability to go forward.
These are foreign affairs but they impact all of us as it relates to the pocketbook.
No one may care about Cuba, but they care about filling up at the pump.
There is an increasing awareness that data centers are coming and they will need an immense amount of energy. That could impact our electric bill and not in a good way.
In a related situation, our local utility invested in a power-generating facility to help offset spiking electric costs during periods of extreme heat or cold.
It all looked good until the bill came due for tariffs as the generators were coming from Europe and we are subject to tariffs.
We will face a shrinking labor force until we finally fix the immigration system. There is no doubt that we need workers to handle many of the manual jobs that are required.
We should have an established program for immigrants to come documented to fulfill these jobs.
We have taken advantage of immigrants for years, paying them less than scale due to being undocumented.
The policies are in place but not administered. It could be resolved but politics gets in the way.
Being a free market economy believer as Milton Friedman supported works for me.
I don’t believe the government does anything efficiently.
I understand that a lack of ethics is the Achilles heel of capitalism.
We wouldn’t have unions if companies had treated their workers fairly.
We have the EPA because companies thought more of the bottom line than being good stewards.
I still believe in free markets over any government, but reality hits you in the face. Ethics is not morality, it is just essentially living by the golden rule and being honest.
So I encourage you to try and connect all the dots.
It is not simple and impossible to predict, but I find it fascinating while frustrating.
But such is life.