Well, it sure didn’t take CNN long to get the 2010 Fear Mongering Bandwagon rolling. Check out The Buzz from January 2 on what could go wrong in 2010. (That’s right, Saturday January 2nd. They couldn’t even wait two days for the first work week to start!)
According to the article,
- we’re in for part two of the double-dip recession,
- the US currency is likely to be debased,
- the housing market could still hit bottom,
- the market is in for a lacklustre year, and
- the job situation is not going to improve.
Wouldn’t it be great for a change if the media focussed on the positives and instead of spreading more FUD, talked about the lessons we’ve learned and how we can use them to right the economy?
After all, this is the 2nd major recession in less than a decade, as the the tech bust of 2000 was still a little less than 10 years ago. And a number of other global economies have had similar downfalls in the last 10 years. Should it not be obvious by now that:
- out-of-control growth will be followed by a rapid contraction,
- when you flood your country with government paper you decrease the value of your currency value,
- house prices cannot increase in value at a rate above inflation forever as they quickly reach a point where no one can afford them,
- high double-digit returns year-after-year-after-year are not sustainable (and anyone who says they are might be another Madoff in the making) in the long term, and
- it can take a long time to recover from a recession.
Once you’ve learned these lessons and go back to the old-school of business (which takes the long term view that most of Corporate America seems to have forgotten since the turn of the Millennium), where you plan for steady, incremental growth, hire in a controlled fashion, and don’t make, or price, products out of reach, I see no reason that you can’t, once again, do just fine.