In the post below I got input from European vendors about the economic recovery. Comments about the US market were absent. What’s that all about?
I know zip about economics. I believe, however, that most success is based on emotion. If people believe that things are going well, they will invest, grow, create, take risks, and spend money. If they are uncertain, have fear, they will “hunker down” and wait it out.
Unfortunately that is what we are seeing in the US. The government is in disarray. It is attacking problems on every front and not succeeding at any of them. From what we can see, the “Stimulus “package was a bust. We are now focusing on recreating a sixth of our economy (Obama care), creating the largest deficits in history, taking over our financial and automotive industries, trying to ensure we pollute less by raising prices of energy, beginning trade wars with our trading partners, giving billions to other countries to drill for oil while preventing drilling here at home, and spending our time apologizing for the past 50 years of American successes worldwide.
Our government has nothing positive to say about free enterprise, our capitalist system, and is placing the blame for the problems we have on the very people who can take us out of the economic nosedive, the individual entrepreneurs and risk takers, rather than where it belongs, with the corrupt members of congress that set in motion the downfall of our housing, lending, and financial institutions.
So the folks who create jobs (the government never created a non governmental job), invest, pay taxes, and build our economy are worried. What is coming down the pike? Do we have an environment where investment will thrive, or will the return be taxed away? Who knows? So why take the risk. Invest in Asia, Australia, Brazil, India. Economic powerhouses that looked at the recession, shrugged, and then carried on.
One of the fellows at the EPA mentioned to me that China is worried that its growth rate is down to 8%. He laughed. The US would kill for an annualized growth of 3%. He was a German.
We will be back, but it will take a change in Washington. Maybe if the midterm elections next year show that the populace has had enough and is willing to “throw the bums out” the confidence level will return. If not – it will be long tough slog and we will be left in the dust.
Can anyone say “Parking World?”
JVH
