The nightly news is depressing to watch these days. With any more bad economic news one would feel like jumping a boat to Bora Bora. It’s clear we’ll need some time to recover, but the more important question everyone wants to know is where are we headed next?
We probably won’t get a true economic picture until after the election, which, by the way, is less than a month away. We seem to forget that things typically get a little out of whack in an election year. Lets assume for a moment that this was a normal election cycle and the global economy was not on the verge of meltdown. What would normally happen is this: The stock market roller coasters along, as more speculators predict what the economy will do under President X or President Y. Uncertain consumers keep their money close to the vest, and all this leaves businesses scrambling for strategies to keep the doors open. Many of those strategies result in reducing overhead, which translates into laying people off. Thus the circular panic begins. Now all of this uneasiness is magnified ten fold by the credit crisis.
Whether you’re a McCain fan or you think Obama is the best man for the job, one thing is for sure. The country will have a better sense of its future once the election is over. The unsettled roller coaster ride will quiet down. January will be here before you know it, and the President will be inaugurated. While I’m not speaking with hard evidence, just the general consensus of those in my network, I also think people will generally feel better at the start of 2009. Feeling better can translate into a lot of different things, but the two economic categories that must turn-around to get this country back on it’s feet are housing and energy prices.
