Perspective

A little market perspective based on my adult lifetime.

On Jan. 2, 1980 the Dow opened at 838.74, the S&P 500 opened at 102.09. Assuming an 8% annual growth rate the Dow should be at 7235.90, the S&P at 880.74. Now, I'm not being pollyannish in thinking things can't get a lot worse, but, it's pretty clear the 1990s and the first years of this century saw market growth at simply unsustainable rates. Don't jump off the ledge just yet.

The melting point of aluminum is...

1220 degrees F.

From Reuters, through Yahoo. Picture from the wild fires in California

I Want You...

No, I don't remember where I found it. See previous Uncle Sam poster post for continuity of funniness and a positive spin on the changes of the last century.

Funny Posters

Funny posters at Son of the South

Under the title "DUH!"

Is this article from CNN/Fortune discussing how to get our economy moving again. Agree or disagree with the article, this is the most interesting quote:

"The bottom line is that people are craving leadership. They're awaiting directions. Mr. President, get the spirit of America moving again. All you need to do is set a clear goal, explain why it's important, and then present steps toward achieving it."

Well, isn't that the basic definition of leadership, set a goal, explain why it's important, define the steps to get there, and then put smart people in charge of making it happen? Have we become so accepting of buzzword leadership that we have to hear this in the press?

To be honest, I don't know that Americans have the stomach to hear the truth anymore. It's just to easy to pick a dogma and then scream at each other instead.