Our economic boom has passed and the end has been in the works for more than a decade.
Click for larger graph SOURCES: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Bureau of Economic Analysis; Federal Reserve | GRAPHIC BY NEIL IRWIN, CRISTINA RIVERO AND TODD LINDEMAN / THE WASHINGTON POST
Most of life is highly predictable and the next decade will be easy to predict right here and now. The “teens’, as in the 2010’s, will be a time of great economic, political and social strife. Being an optimist and a realist, it’s easy to see those troubles coming. The economy will be in deep trouble going forward and the political and social turmoil will follow suit.
Predictions are cheap but watch these ones since they are almost impossible to avoid.
GM as a model of North American predictability
The TV networks are putting on endless decade reviews. One on MSNBC asked the question: who would have known in 2000 that GM would go bankrupt and we would be buying hybrid cars?
Actually, anyone could have seen the bankruptcy of GM for about 30 years and many predicted it. Their end was well known, only the date was a mystery. The world had learned to make more cars than people needed and the best ones were made in Japan and elsewhere. GM was a bad bet since the company kept ignoring quality and did not produce what people wanted: cheap and fuel efficient cars.
Continue reading →
