I circulated this article in one of my client e-letters back in April. I still contend that it is a myth that our economy will “recover”, whatever that means. The key idea here is WE DON”T WANT IT TO GO BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS. Our economy was (and still is to a large extent) based on fluff, fantasy, unsustainable excess, magical thinking and unrealistic expectations.
You might find it helpful to peruse an excerpt from General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt’s speech, delivered in Toronto on February 11, where he discusses the concept of “reset”.
“If you think this [recession] is only a cycle you’re just wrong. This is a permanent reset,” he said. “There are going to be elements of the economy that will never be the same, ever. Smart businesses are the ones that are going to hunker down in the cycle, which you’ve got to do, but that also understand we’re going to come out of this in a different world.”
This is what I’ve been saying for over a year now. And this is why cycle theorists like Harry Dent (chief economist for AIM funds) had been wrong over and over again. The media tend to discount such “negativity” as they keep propagating the “optimistic” myths that Wallstreet keeps feeding the investing public:
“This is just a cycle. Things will bounce back.”, “Everyone has lost money.”, “No one can predict the market.”, “We’re doing the best we can.”, “We’ve hit bottom. The market can only go up from here.”, “Things will bounce back.”, “Don’t lock in your losses by selling out now.” etc. ad nauseum. None of those things are true! Here is what is true:
You can protect your money from the future market declines that are on the horizon without missing out on gains if and when the market recovers. But only if you take action. Take the Wealth Index questionnaire as a first step. It is free. It takes 20 minutes. It helps me assess the best course of action for you. Here’s the link: WEALTH INDEX