These thoughts are prompted by our current state of affairs. The pandemic looms. Even the Federal Reserve may not be able to put Humpty Dumpty together again. Sometimes our worldly problems overwhelm us. We are reminded of our very challenging mortality. This would be quite elementary to my mother. She and her future husband were children in the Great Depression. It has often been said that such people carried certain attitudes through life. And furthermore, that such attitudes got passed on to their children.
It has been difficult for us realists to live with the "irrational exuberance" of the stock market - a famous quote from Alan Greenspan from when he headed the Federal Reserve. Greenspan wrote a book that I got for Mom as a Christmas present. He has led a fascinating life in various respects, only one of which was the Fed role.
My mother would argue that every so often, God will bite us in the butt, not that she would use those words. I remember at the time of the savings and loan scandal, some people had been wiped out and there was a news report about how counselors were dispatched to advise people on how they can be happy without their money.
"I don't want a counselor telling me how I can be happy without my money," Mom said. "I just want to have my money."
She had bank accounts and was always mindful of the FDIC limit. My habits reflected that. So I had friends who were stunned that I was disbelieving about all the talk of how the stock market was the place to be. It almost gave me a "complex" over time.
I do not seek vindication now, if the reality is that many people will be hurt by stocks plunging.
I have been totally shaking my head, as it seems the market has just been buying time. People who present themselves as conservatives and Republicans don't really seem to believe in free market enterprise. The market has been getting propped up by means that seem artificial, in the context of "buying time." And when you buy time, time can run out.
When I was a kid, we heard very little about the stock market. It was a distant and rather mysterious place. A sea change then occurred. It got to the point where, when Forum Communications bought the Morris newspaper, we were supposed to sign up for a 401K. I tried saying no but something got set up for me anyway. This I learned as I anticipated the usual cash bonus at Christmas, something the Morrisons had done for years. I inquired and was told no, some money would be placed in such-and-such account. I had no interest in finding out what this account was called - I don't think I even asked.
Eventually at the time of my departure from the place, a most unpleasant time, I actually got a fair amount of $ which of course sat well with me. So I must say, Forum Communications was most fair in how they disposed that. The Forum had "human resources" people who visited and spoke with us occasionally. It is a most contemporary company when it comes to all the bells and whistles like 401K, insurance etc. And maybe that was a factor in how they let go of the Morris paper eventually.
My theory is that the new ownership can only make it go if it's more bare bones. I have tried wishing them well. As I get older, I suppose no one cares what I think.
I was never persuaded by the "go-go" stock market that got going in the 1990s. It felt like trying to resist a siren song of sorts (from Greek mythology, you know). The stock market had been scary when I was a kid, then a new meme took over. I have felt rather flummoxed by it all.
Few people are now around who have life experience from the Great Depression. I heard a quote from someone like this once, about how anyone with such a background has an instinctive distrust of the stock market.
And today, whenever circumstances seem such that there ought to be a downturn, perhaps substantial, in the market, which would be natural, we see news reports about "an impending cut in interest rates" or a "liquidity injection" or bailouts etc., anything but real economic good news.
Seems to me, any reasonably intelligent person should have started getting skeptical of what was going on. We hear "objective" news reports saying "the market stabilized (or is heading up) because of a belief the Fed will lower interest rates." A "belief?" A friggin' "belief?" Where does that come from? What happened to sound journalistic principles? It gets rolled over by "irrational exuberance."
And my late mother would say the situation would catch up to us, that it would bite us in the butt, not that she would talk like that.
Perhaps this attitude reflected her Christian faith in which we are called upon to be humbled by God often, to be reminded of our mortal failings. We are always to be humble in the face of God. But instead of this, so many among us began attaching faith to a flawed political leader, Donald Trump, who had no experience in government or the military prior to getting elected. He probably got elected because he had been a celebrity on TV.
He then hitched his wagon to the most unpleasant element of the Republican Party. And now we're relying on this morally bankrupt person to lead us in the time of the pandemic.
This is not something that Republicans do. This is what Democrats do. But we have a president who calls himself a Republican even though I don't think he has anything like a developed philosophy at all. And we have a U.S. Senate led by the likes of Mitch McConnell. Enough said.
Perhaps my mother, a Democrat of course, would say "heaven help us all." She is in a better place now, thank goodness.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
 |
| The late Martha H. Williams at East Side Park |
No comments:
Post a Comment