Just when you thought you couldn't stand any more happiness.....along comes David to tear it all down.   I apologize in advance for this blog....but it has to be said.

I'm a little disappointed..... Not so much at government, (they're doing what they believe best to mitigate a bad situation) but at the mandarins of greed and stupidity that put us into this economic mess....not only here at home, but in all of the developed world.   I'm also dismayed at average non-thinking consumers who are now paying the price for living too high on the hog and naively believing the gravy train would never end.

The result is an ever widening gap between rich and poor.   The ultra-rich get richer...the medium rich do a little belt tightening and the middle class and poor have seen their world turned inside out.

Contrary to what the economic poo-bahs tell us the recession is not over....or close to being over.   When economic stimulus funds run out we'll again see another drop in the stock market...and more people will be tossed out of work.   The unemployment rate stands at 9.7% (not counting those who have given up searching for jobs) and will top 10% in the not too distant future.  

"Median income fell last year from $52,163 to $50,303, wiping out a decade's worth of gains to hit the lowest level since 1997."

The lower dollar value may make US exports a better buy, but will harm US international credibility, boost the price of oil imports and reduce foreign investments in US treasury debt etc. etc..   Health Care is the number one cash gobbler, that must be addressed quickly, but no one can agree on a workable plan.....and then there are all those trillions of dollars of debt that must be serviced.

The world demand for oil will increase 50% by 2025 and the price will skyrocket as "peak oil" has pretty much already been reached.

Average citizens will continue to save rather than spend, which is both good and bad.  They will reduce their overall personal debt load, but businesses will suffer as consumers pay debt rather than spend.   Jobs will be lost as a result. 

Large inventories will keep real estate prices low (in many areas) and uncertainty will continue to impact sales.

Tax increases will certainly come at some point within the next year or two, despite what government tells us. Foreign creditor pressure may force the Fed to boost its interest rate.   Free money to the banks can't go on forever.

I can't personally see a glimmer of light on the horizon for at least another 3 -5 years.....and even then we'll not return to the glory days of mid-'05.   Some say we'll never pay off all those trillions of debt.

Meanwhile, life in China & India is getting better all the time.   In the next 25 years or so China will become the world's economic leader.    This year the Chinese economy to grow a whopping 8.9% in the third quarter, up from 7.9% in the second quarter....and Chinese consumers spent more than 11% more than they did last year.

We live in interesting times.....and still many Realtors carry on business as if it were 2005.   When will they ever learn?

That's the way I see it....and I'm stickin' to it.

Thanks.  Sincerely, David